


Whatever it takes

by Infinity_on_high



Series: With thunder and blood, with hammer and sword [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Avengers Family, Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, Bruce Banner Needs a Hug, Canon Divergence - Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Character Death, Fix-It, Friendship, Gen, Hurt Thor (Marvel), Implied Relationships, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Not Canon Compliant, Panic Attacks, Protective Hulk (Marvel), References to Depression, Sad, Sad with a Happy Ending, Smart Hulk (Marvel), Soul Stone (Marvel), Team as Family, Thor (Marvel) Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-14
Updated: 2019-07-04
Packaged: 2020-03-04 21:23:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 23,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18820996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Infinity_on_high/pseuds/Infinity_on_high
Summary: Avengers: Endgame spoiler warning!With a mission to bring the team back together again, Bruce and Rocket travel to New Asgard and reunite with Thor. Back at the compound they're all left with one mission and one chance to collect the stones from the past and bring everyone back. Thor and Bruce are tasked with obtaining the soul stone, however upon their arrival on Vormir, they're both faced with the hardest decision they've ever made and they only have one thing on their minds:Whatever it takes.





	1. When the mighty fall

**Author's Note:**

> If you didn't catch the tag or the summary then I'll give you one more warning, this fic contains spoilers!!
> 
> So I went watching endgame and....I was incredibly disappointed. It's not that the film wasn't good, it definitely had its moments that had me on edge. But I feel like they solely focused on two characters whilst the rest were just kind of there. There were also many stupid moments in the movie that it just didn't need. One character that the russos managed to destroy was Thor, (and this is why we can't have nice things people!!) I personally hated what they did with Thor in e6and feel that they just spat on Ragnarok and the two movies before that. 
> 
> One thing I really did love though was the relationship between Thor and Bruce and that's really what the fic focuses on :) enjoy!! Please dont come for me in the comments!!

Bruce smiled when he finally saw a sign ahead of the truck with the words, 'Welcome to New Asgard' written on the front. Rocket leaned out of the side of the trailer with the wind blowing through his fur, "Finally!"  
They had one job to do, bring their friend home. 

The streets of New Asgard were livelier than Bruce imagined they would be. There were people at work all over the place. The truck drove itself onto a bridge before slowing to a stop and Bruce and Rocket jumped from the trailer. 

Rocket took in the sights of the small grey city around him, "Kind of a step down from a big golden palace and  using magic hammers and whatnot,"

Bruce gave him a tight smile replying,  
"Have some compassion, pal. First they lost Asgard then half the people. They're probably just happy to have a home." But the raccoon did have a point.

"Hey, man!" 

Both Bruce and Rocket turned at the loud shout from behind them and the hulk grinned at the familiar rock man waving at them. He walked over to Korg with his arms open.

"Hey, Korg! Long time no see," Korg stooped short and his head tilted to the left like he was confused.  
"Yeah you too, you seem a lot more uhm...articulate than when you were on the ship. Hey you shrunk too!" 

Bruce chose to ignore the comment,  
"This is my friend, Rocket," he gestured to the raccoon, who gave Korg a wave,  
"Hey, how's it goin,"

There was a brief silence until Bruce cleared his throat and spoke again. "Korg, is Thor here?" 

The immediate change in the Kronan's mood had Bruce on edge. He didn't know rock men could physically deflate. Korg sighed and looked to Meik before shrugging.

"Uhm, yeah man. He lives up there in the big house on the hill. I'll have to warn you though, there's a pretty good chance he won't want to see you. We went round last night to hang out but he wasn't doing so good. Val kicked us out and we haven't seen him or her since. Not that we really see him alot as it is. The guy only really comes out about once a month to stock up." Korg finished his sentence by nodding behind him. There were several stacks of barrels against the stone wall, all labelled 'Beer' or 'Ale.'

Bruce winced, "That bad, huh?"  
To which Korg shrugged again. Rocket stepped forward, "Look, we really need to see him. The people Thanos took, we think we might have a way to bring them back, but we can't do it without Thor."

"Well, feel free to try. Good luck!" Korg patted the giant's shoulder and walked by the two to go back to his work. The hulk and raccoon locked eyes before turning to look in the distance at the single house resting on the hill.

When they reached the door of the house, the thin wooden door was already opened slightly and Rocket gave the door a push cautiously stepping back as the door effortlessly swung all the way open. Their eyes were met with a dark hall way, the air thick with dust. 

Rocket was the first to step into the house, his nose wrinkled as the smell of the house hit him full force. It wasn't bad persay, though there was a strong smell of damp that only intensified as he made his way further down the hall way. There were boxes poorly stacked against the walls and the wallpaper was chipping onto the floor. The wooden floorboards were rough against the raccoon's paws and there was next to no light in the whole house. The place looked a mess. It didn't look like a place the king of Asgard should be living.

"What the hell..." Rocket muttered as he took in the sight. There were heavy footsteps against the creaking floor as Banner followed him in. The house seemed pretty much lifeless. It didnt look like anyone had lived here in years.

"Thor? You home?" Bruce called, his shout echoing off the thin walls. Both he and Rocket jumped when a very familiar woman came storming out from the room behind them with a finger pressed over her lips and her eyes glaring daggers at them both. 

"Shut it, will you? I just got him to sleep an hour ago!" She hissed before blowing a stray strand of hair out of her face and tucking it behind her ear. Bruce couldn't help but grin at the sight of the Valkyrie as she took one last glance into the room she came out of, slowly pulling the door shut. 

"Valkyrie, it's good to see you, angry girl," Banner said in a much quieter tone, it was good to see her alive and okay after their last meeting on the Statesman before Thanos blew it apart. Valkyrie looked back up at Banner, her eyes softened for a moment,  
"I think I liked you better either of the other ways," she squeezed past the two and entered what resembled a living room, though it looked more like a trash heap. The furniture and floor were littered with empty bottles and takeout boxes. There were crates of beer that had been left untouched piled on top of eachother in the middle of the room. The only giveaway to who lived here was the Stormbreaker leaning against the pile of crates.

"You shouldn't have come here," Valkyrie flopped into the armchair by the window. Bruce and Rocket followed her, and she motioned for them to take a seat on the couch placed across from her chair. The couch felt like it would break under Banner's weight alone so Rocket politely declined. Valkyrie shrugged, "Suit yourself. Either of you want a drink? This place is like Odin's wine cellar," As she spoke, she picked up a half empty bottle from the table, took a pull and leaned back in the large chair.

"Val, listen.." Banner began to speak.

"He won't see you," Valkyrie said before he could finish his sentence. Bruce sighed heavily, a sad smile coming to his face.

"We think we might have a way to fix everything. A way to bring everyone back. We're getting the whole team back together. But to do that we need Thor." Bruce continued and Valkyrie huffed. 

"Listen, lady, we've been travelling all day and all night to get here because we think we've found a way to bring everybody back that we lost five years ago. And I haven't found hope just to lose it again because it's blondie's naptime. So you go ahead and wake him up, or I will," Rocket strode over to the woman, who looked at him unimpressed.

Bruce rubbed his temple and looked at her apologetically, "Val, this is Rocket," 

Valkyrie placed her bottle back on the table and rested her hands in her lap,  
"You think it's that easy? Do you know how long it took me to calm him down enough so he could sleep. The answer is all night."

Bruce's brows furrowed in concern,  
"He's really that bad?" The Valkyrie gave a slow nod of her head, "His drinking and panic attacks are slightly easier to handle than the days when he can't even get himself out of bed. But I'm putting alot of emphasis on the slightly here. Nothing about the last five years has been in any way easy." 

All three pairs of eyes went to the doorway as they heard movement in the hallway. It sounded like footsteps.

"Val, who are you talking to?" Came a deep smooth voice from another room. The footsteps were coming closer,  
"Korg, Meik, if that's you two then I'm sorry about last night, I didn't mean t-" 

The voice stopped as soon as the owner walked into the room. Piercing eyes landed on Banner and Rocket, one blue, one brown, he appeared frozen in shock. Bruce on the other hand tried and failed to hold in a gasp at the sight of the man standing in the doorway next to him. 

It was Thor. There was no question about that. Bruce knew that the second he heard his voice. But that and his face were the only recognisable features he still had. He was remarkably thinner, wearing a Led Zeppelin vest Bruce had seen him wearing many times in the past, which was now about two sizes too big on the God of thunder. His blonde hair had grown out again and was tied into a messy braid out of his face. Gone was the beard he had been growing years ago, leaving him bare faced with a few spots of stubble lining his jaw. The God's eyes were ringed with red like he hadn't slept for days. This was Thor, but Bruce didnt understand how.

"Thor? Hey, pal, remember me?" Banner asked, quite unsure of what to do after Thor just stared in response. Rocket tried next, he came slightly closer to the God of thunder,  
"You miss us, buddy?" 

Thor was taking several deep breaths in and out and Valkyrie worried for a moment that Thor was about to fall into another panic episode. Everyone took a step back as Thor took a step closer to Banner. Bruce didn't move a muscle and let Thor to come to him. The thunder God reached his arm out to Banner, who just watched the curious man like he was just meeting him for the first time. 

Thor's hand landed on the hulk's big shoulder, running from there all the way down to the palm of his giant green hand. His eyes never left Bruce's face. Banner gave him a kind smile as a way to encourage him. This new form had taken Bruce years to get used to himself, it was understandable that everyone else would be a little shocked.

Thor's brow furrowed and he gave a slight shake of his head, "Bruce?"  
He sounded unsure and he looked so lost that Bruce's heart ached for him. He placed both his large hands on Thor's shoulders, they felt like the bones would snap with the slightest amount of pressure.

"Buddy, are you alright?" 

He grew concerned when Thor in a shuddering breath and he cast his eyes down to the floor. The second Banner heard his breath hitch he was pulling the God into a hug. He never imagined Thor of all people feeling so small in his arms. Thor reached up wrapping his arms tightly around Bruce's neck and hiding his face in the hulk's shoulder. Banner held onto Thor as he lifted the man off the ground and hugged him tighter.

"Guess that answers that question," Rocket muttered causing Thor to look at him over his shoulder. As soon as Bruce let him down, Thor knelt in front of the raccoon carefully pulling him into a hug too. Rocket grumbled and squirmed in Thor's hold, he could've easily broke free if he wanted to but after a moment he rolled his eyes and patted the God's shoulder.

"Alright, alright. It's good to see you too," he said sincerely before drawing back. Thor was smiling when he looked at them. Like the last five years had never happened. His body may have changed drastically but the way he smiled could never change. It somehow brought more light into the dark and messy room. 

Bruce remembered when the Avengers all lived together at the compound years ago just before Ultron, he had alot of bad days trying to keep the other guy at bay and learning how to keep control of himself in case of a code green. He remembered Tony having constant sleepless nights when he decided to focus on his work instead of taking care of himself. He remembered Steve's bad days when he missed Peggy and the people he grew up with and he'd go down to the gym and beat the hell out of a punching bag. There were many days when the compound was just dark and lifeless. Then out of nowhere Thor would stroll in like he was the living embodiment of the sun itself, with his perfect smile, always looking hopelessly stunning and the mood would lift instantly as he greeted them all with warm hugs that somehow made everything okay. 

But Thor was the one who lost everything and yet still he smiled.

"What brings you two here?" Thor beamed. 

Valkyrie rose from her chair with a frustrated look on her face, "And what are you doing awake? You've been awake for sixty hours, Thor, you need to rest." 

Thor scoffed as he moved over to the crates and pulled a bottle of beer from the open top crate, breaking the lid on stormbreaker's blade and taking a sip.  
"I can sleep when I'm dead, Val. I haven't seen these two in five years, I'm not going to spend their visit laying in bed." Valkyrie rolled her eyes and continued drinking.

Thor turned back to Bruce, "So you guys want a drink? We've got beer, Ale, all sorts of things," Thor chuckled and took another long pull.

Rocket's eyes narrowed, he took a step toward Thor, almost cautiously,  
"You okay, pal?" To which Thor gave a confused stare and shrugged it off,  
"Yes, I'm fine. Why? Do I look okay?"

No he didn't. Thor didn't look okay in the slightest. He could smile and play the act all he liked but Bruce knew. Thor looked like he hadn't eaten in weeks, his skin was pale and white and the light behind his eyes was alot dimmer. It was like the life had been sucked out of Thor. The fact that the God still tried to smile and pretend he was okay broke Bruce's heart. 

"You look like a dead man walking," Rocket replied, sounding harsher than he'd meant to and earning a hard glare from Valkyrie. But Thor just chuckled and took several gulps from the beer in his hand. "So what's up?"

Bruce's brow rose, _ah, right, the mission,_ "We need your help," Thor nodded, motioning for him to continue,  
"We think we have a way to fix everything." 

"Like what?"

Well, here goes nothing, "Thanos." 

Bruce didn't know what he was expecting. The smile on Thor's face slowly dropped. The thunderer cast his eyes down to the ground and he shook his head as if he thought he'd misheard. When he looked back up to Banner, his eyes were shining with tears, his lips pressed into a thin line. Bruce heard the God's breathing become louder and faster. Banner then realised Thor was starting to panic.

Guilt quickly welled up in Bruce and he reached out to Thor only to have him jerk away like his hand was on fire.   Thor was practically panting for breath, his eyes wide open in fear. Valkyrie was on her feet in an instant striding over to the three and kneeling in front of Thor, framing his face in her hands and tilting his head up so he locked eyes with her. 

"Shh, its alright, Thor. You're okay. Remember what I said; just breathe, okay? Slowly, look at me, Thor! Breathe in, and out," 

Thor really seemed to be trying to follow her instructions, but after a moment he tore himself away from her and barged past Banner and Rocket, running out of the room. There was the slam of a door. Then Banner cringed when he heard Thor retching.

"Thanks for that, really," Valkyrie glared at them both before leaving the room in the same direction as Thor. 

There was a brief silence as both Banner and Rocket were left alone unsure of what to do. Rocket hopped up onto the couch so he could reach into the open crate and pulled out one bottle and then another, holding one out to Bruce.

"How about that drink then, huh?"

They both went through three beers each before Valkyrie came out of the bathroom looking even more exhausted then she did before. She seemed out of breath as she seated herself back in the armchair and didn't speak for a while.  
"Val, is he alright?" Bruce asked.

She huffed a laugh and shook her head,  
"Take a wild guess. Yeah, I probably should've told you before, we don't say that name here. He's just freshening up, he'll be back out soon. You two should probably leave before he does."

Rocket did a double take at her,  
"Excuse me, could you repeat that?"  
The Valkyrie sighed frustrated at him,  
"You saw how he was, that's been the story for the last five years. He isn't in any condition to go anywhere, Banner. He needs rest, you two being here isn't helping. Like I said, you shouldn't have come." She wasn't raising her voice but she didn't sound far from it.

Bruce didn't want to believe her but he knew she was right. Thor wasn't who he was five years ago. He certainly wasn't who he was before losing Asgard, then half of the remaining people, his best friend and his brother. Thor had gone down a path of extreme guilt and lack of care for himself. Bruce could empathise with that. But he didn't want to accept that his best friend, the strongest person he knew, was giving up.

"Val, you don't understand. This isn't just a theory, this is real, a second chance. A chance that could bring everybody back." Bruce tried to plead with her.

"Exactly, a chance. A chance, Banner. What if we fail again. If Thanos wins a second time...I don't think he could survive it. I mean, why do you think I'm here? If we hadn't come back when we did, he would've probably drunk himself to death by now. I come here every night to make sure he hasn't done exactly that. Do you know how long it took before I felt safe leaving him for one night by himself?!" Valkyrie put a hand over her mouth like she hadn't meant to say that and to stop herself from saying anything else.

Rocket's ears pinned back and he looked away from her. The raccoon was never good with the emotional stuff but imagining what Thor had been through tugged at something within him.

Bruce knelt in front of the Valkyrie so that he could see her face. He placed a hand delicately on her shoulder,  
"Val, you've been looking after him on your own this whole time?" The Valkyrie sniffed and nodded.

"Someone had to."

It was at that moment when Thor entered the room. His vest had been replaced with a hoodie that looked even bigger on him, his forehead was sweating and his skin was grey most likely from having just thrown up. Thor looked awful. Bruce wasn't sure how much of that conversation Thor heard, but from the guilty look he was flashing in Valkyrie's direction, he could imagine he'd heard enough. 

It took a painfully long while before anyone said anything as Thor stood in the doorway. "I'm sorry about that, guys,"

Rocket waved him off, "Don't worry about it, we get it. We get why Than- that guy... might scare you," Thor gave a smile which held no humour. He looked over to Rocket with shining eyes before slowly advancing towards him.

"Why should I be scared of someone who is dead? I killed him, chopped his ugly purple head off, watched him fall before my eyes. Yet still I somehow managed to fail. I was too late." Thor turned his attention to the stormbreaker placed against the wall with several bottle tops scattered on the floor around it. 

"That wasn't your fault, Thor," Valkyrie said as she rubbed her tired eyes. Thor shook his head,  
"I could've stopped all of this in the first place. I could've saved trillions of lives. If I'd gone for the head from the beginning then half the universe would still be alive. I may not have been the one snapping his fingers but I may as well have stood there and watched him do it."

Bruce knew what it was like to blame himself for everything Thanos did. He'd been doing the same thing for the past five years, except he used his anger and grief to turn himself into who he was. He had some help with that to, from the very man standing before him. The hulk approached Thor, who looked on the verge of tears. 

"I get it, I get you're going through a rough spot. I know how it is to feel like your fighting a losing battle with your own mind. I know you. I've been where you are before and do you want to know who helped me out of it, Thor?" Banner was holding Thor by his shoulders as the God continued to drink his beer.

Thor shrugged and shook his head and Banner smiled, "It was you, Thor. You helped me through it," 

Thor carefully twisted out of Bruce's hold and walked over to the window Valkyrie was sitting by. He took a long look at the people working outside,  
"Why don't you ask the Asgardians, or rather the ones that are left, just how much my help is worth?" 

"That's why we need your help. We think we can bring them back," Banner replied and thankfully that seemed to hold Thor's interest. The God raised his eyebrow at Banner before tipping his head back, spilling the last few sips of his drink down his throat. He discarded the bottle by simply placing it on the floor where many others seem to have been left for God knows how long.

"And how would we do that?"  
                      
As Bruce explained the plan, Valkyrie took it as an opportunity to try and get Thor to eat something. Thor picked at his meal for a bit and the Valkyrie sighed in frustration when she saw the food had mostly gone untouched by the time Bruce finished explaining. There was a long silence as the hulk and the racoon waited patiently for Thor's response but they both prepared for the worst. 

"I want to help," Thor said. Bruce couldn't hold back his grin. Even Rocket smiled at the God of thunder. Valkyrie looked uncertain but she ultimately supported his decision. She wouldn't be able to talk him out of it anyway. If there was anything she had learned about Thor, it was when the king of Asgard made a decision, it was next to impossible to change his mind. He was stubborn like that. Like Odin had been.

"Are you sure you're up for this?" She asked him anyway. Thor took her hand in his and gave her a pleading look,  
"I need to do this, Val. I need to take this chance to do something right." Like she said, stubborn.

Rocket had insisted they leave as soon as possible, most likely to avoid the opportunity that Thor would change his mind. But the God agreed all the same.

They called for a car and waited by the quarry as Thor left the house only carrying Stormbreaker. Valkyrie followed him out pulled him to a stop. Banner and Rocket watched the two as they were talking but they were too far away for them to hear what they were saying. 

"Are you really sure you want to do this?" Valkyrie asked him and Thor looked at her confused.

"If my help means bringing everybody back then it's a chance I have to take. It seems like you don't want me to." He replied, though the last part sounded like a question. 

"I want everybody back just as much as you do, I just worry for you. Asgard needs a king, if we lose you then all hope is lost." She said.

"Valkyrie, you have been more of a king than I ever could've been in these last five years. You look after me day and night and I will never be more grateful for that. I can't promise you that I will live past this and I know it's unfair to ask another favour of you, but in the event that I don't come back, will you look after Asgard for me?" He was holding her hands as he spoke. 

"Are you being serious?" She whispered, her voice choking up with emotion. 

"I trust you with my life, I know I can trust you with theirs." He pointed down the hill towards the streets roaming with people. With his other hand he tipped her chin up so that the two locked eyes.

"Thank you. For everything."

Without saying another word the Valkyrie threw herself into his arms hugging him as tight as she possibly could. He chuckled as he wrapped his arms around her waist and lifting her off the ground and kissing her cheek. She eventually pulled back clearing her throat and wiping her eyes.

"Farewell, Brunhilde."

Thor began walking down the hill towards Bruce and rocket as the car pulled up. 

"Your majesty," Brunhilde called and Thor turned back to her.

"Don't die," 

Thor grinned at her, she couldn't help but smile back,

"You know what I mean,"  
                                 
                                 ●●●

The ride back to the compound was long and Thor was uncharacteristically quiet. When they got back to the ship it had taken Bruce forever to convince Thor to finally get some rest before they arrived and it wasn't long until Thor woke up screaming. Bruce didn't bother trying again when Thor decided to drown the nightmare in beer and hide away in the back of the ship. 

Upon landing, Bruce saw several Avengers gathering near the landing zone. Steve and Natasha standing ahead of Tony, Rhodey, Scott and Nebula. Bruce was surprised to see Clint there too. 

The moment the ship landed and the doors opened, the Avengers came swarming up to the stairs. Rocket and Bruce were welcomed back warmly by the others. 

"Did you find him?" Steve asked ahead of the group voicing everyone's thoughts.

"Why don't you see for yourself, Captain Rogers?" Came the deep voice from the top of the stairs and all eyes looked up to the God of thunder who was now walking down towards them. 

Banner knew what most of them were thinking the moment they saw Thor as most of them froze on the spot at the sight of him. They had the same reaction he did. Thor didn't seem to let their actions bother him, in fact he didn't really seem to notice their looks of surprise at the changes of Thor's body, the obvious concern about the very noticeable weight loss and bare face.

The moment Thor's feet touched the ground, Steve walked up to him and threw his arms around him, which Thor reciprocated with ease dropping stormbreaker on the ground. Steve never thought he'd see the day when he was bigger than Thor. But even with Thor alot thinner than before, he wasn't that much smaller than the captain.

Tony and Clint each put an arm around him and patted his back as Natasha hugged him from the front. Nebula waved from behind the group and Thor waved back with his arms full of Avengers.

"We missed you, pal," Said Rhodey as he came to stand beside Nebula and Scott. The last of the three, Thor hadn't met yet. 

"I've missed you all too, but I'm here now. Banner said you had a plan?" 

Steve nodded, "We do. Let's get you inside first, there's alot you need to know."

Spending the evening with the whole team back together catching up on the last five years was the most Thor had laughed in a long time. Even through all the sorrow and mourning, they took it upon themselves to make what was possibly their last night together count. Stark had a daughter now. He showed everyone photos of her and Pepper, who was now his wife. Thor was happy for Tony, he'd managed to make a life for himself after everything they'd been through. He was glad someone did.

Clint and Natasha finally told them the story of Budapest. Scott began telling stories of his own child and how much she had grown in the time they'd been apart. Thor quickly got along with the man who called himself Antman. He'd gone down the wrong path in the past, but he was a good man with Morals and responsibilities. Thor respected that. In a way he reminded him of Loki. Thinking about his brother quickly dampened his mood. He could see the skies greying outside. He couldn't stop it. He stopped trying to control it years ago. He could only hope no one else noticed. In an attempt to numb his mind as quickly as possible, Thor chugged the last of the can in his hand. 

Everything was fine for a while with Thor unintentionally ignoring his friends as he absentmindedly went through bottle after bottle and slipped once again into blissful numbness. He could feel his eyes drooping and his head tipping back, until he came out of it by someone shouting his name.

"Thor? Is he asleep?" Natasha asked.

"No, I think he's drunk," Steve replied. 

"Banner, is he okay?" That sounded like Clint.

That question was easily answered. Thor could vaguely make out someone coming over to him. He wanted to wave them off or stand up and walk away but he was so out of it he could barely turn his head. 

"Thor, buddy, are you okay?" He heard Steve's voice and felt a hand on his shoulder. Thor swallowed the lump that suddenly appeared in his throat and blinked hard to fight the burn of emotion in his eyes. He felt ashamed of himself that he was being like this. This may be their last night together and here he was ruining it. 

It took all the will and strength Thor had in his body to pull himself to his feet, though he had to hold onto the wall. Steve stayed near him, probably to make sure he didn't fall over but Thor waved him off,

"I'll be fine, captain. I'm just very tired. I think I shall retire for the night. Save my strength for tomorrow." Thor tried to smile at them. He needed to leave. Now.

Bruce came to Thor's side as he attempted to walk out. "Thor...."

And just like that, Thor broke down. The God collapsed to his knees and his shoulder started shaking with sobs. He tried to hide his face from the group, tried to stop his crying. He could feel sparks of electricity dancing over his arms and the all too familiar burn of lightning behind his eyes. 

"I'm sorry....I'm sorry.." Thor didn't realise he was repeating himself. He couldn't breathe. There was a loud crash of thunder from outside causing everyone in the room to jump. The lights in the room began to flicker. 

Thor couldn't hear anything but the raging storm outside and he wasn't sure if anyone was still there. 

Until he saw someone kneeling in front of him and a hand on his arm, he picked his head up and was quietly surprised to see it was Nebula. Her expression never changed as she slowly put her arms around him. He could tell by how stiff her body was that she hadn't had much experience when it came to comfort and he was far from deserving of it from her, but at that point he was craving it, he placed his arms around her and allowed himself to be held.

The entire group was in a state of pure astonishment at the display. Bruce couldn't hold back a snicker when he saw Rocket and Tony completely gobsmacked, heck even Natasha was looking at them with wide eyes. He didn't know the adopted daughter of Thanos very well but he imagined open affection wasn't really her thing. He was grateful to her though. He gave her a nod of appreciation when she glanced his way. 

Nebula understood better than anyone how Thor felt. Maybe not the guilt and regret he seemed to he experiencing. But she knew how it felt to be haunted by Thanos, to feel like he was slowly ripping away everything from you until you don't even feel real anymore. 

She had pieces of her taken away from her body all through her life, having those pieces replaced with machinery until she didn't feel anymore real than the artificial parts she was now made from. When he took Gamora from her, it hurt so much more than having her eye torn from her head and arm from her body. It was as if Gamora was a part of her too and it had been so unfairly ripped from her because she had been weak and powerless.

Thanos had dome the same to Thor, taken pieces of him away leaving him a broken shell of a man who was once an Asgardian king. Now because of Thanos, he was an Asgardian without a people and he was a king without a kingdom. Nebula had spoken with Thor a few times not long after half the universe was wiped out. He told her what her father had taken from him. Everything he had left. Just like he'd done to her. 

She remembered after defeating Ego when she and Gamora finally put their past behind them and she let her sister hug her before they departed and she left to kill Thanos. For the first time, Nebula felt loved by someone. She remembered the comfort helping her feel real again in a way she hadn't felt since she was a child. If it could help her, then why not Thor?

"It'll be okay," she found herself saying. She heard him sniffling, the storm appeared to be calming down, yet only slightly. The lightning became less violent.

"It'll be okay," 

"I hope you're right," Thor replied, his voice now a hoarse whisper.

"It'll be okay." 

....................

The next morning, the team were gathered around the table with Stark's holographic screen in the middle,  
"So there's six stones, we've narrowed it down to four places. Now there's just the matter of deciding who goes where," Banner said.

"We've got Morag, Knowhere, New York and Vormir. Banner, Thor, Nebula, and Rocket, you four have the most experience in space. Stark, Lang, Rhodey, you'll be with me in New York to get the time, mind and Space stone."

"Nat and I will take Knowhere for the reality stone," Clint spoke up from the couch. Steve nodded before looking to the rest of the team. 

"We'll take you there in the Benetar. Me and Nebula will take Morag, Quill stole the power stone from there, we'll know where to find it." Rocket said. 

Bruce was sitting on the couch with Thor curled against him. Banner could tell he was awake from the rhythm of his breathing, but his eyes were covered with a pair of dark sunglasses. He gave his friend a gentle shake and Thor jumped a little bit. Maybe not quite as awake as Bruce had thought.

"Then it looks like you and me are going to Vormir," Bruce said and Thor took off his sunglasses giving the hulk a hint of a smile. His eyes were red and bloodshot with little bags starting to build under them, his face was pale and his smile held no joy. Thor gave a nod though, confirming that he was on board before standing with an outstretched palm until stormbreaker came flying swiftly across the room into Thor's waiting hand. That was good enough for everyone else. 

"Is the Quantum tunnel ready?" Scott asked.

"Yep, we're ready to go," Tony replied.

Steve stood, "Then suit up."

●●●

"We each have one mission, find the stones, bring them back. Most of us are going some place we know, that doesn't mean we should know what to expect. Look out for eachother," Steve said as the group huddled together,  
"This is the fight of our lives, and we're gonna win it."

"He's pretty good at that," said Rocket, who sounded mildly impressed. 

"Good luck," 

"See you in a minute," Natasha smiled at her family. Everyone suited up and shot into the tunnel.

The group was split. Stark, Steve, Rhodey and Scott would be in New York 2012 by now. Rocket and Nebula would be with Natasha and Clint in 2014. 

Where Thor had arrived with Bruce was a place he'd never seen before. He'd heard stories of the sacred Vormir but he had never got the chance to actually see it for himself. 

It was quite beautiful, to say the least. It was a planet surrounded by lakes and snowy mountains. It reminded him of Jotunheim in a way. As Thor looked around more he spotted his big green friend laying on the ground looking just as breathtaken as he was. 

"You alright, Banner?" Thor asked snapping Bruce out if his trance.

"Yeah, yeah I'm good, though this is now the third planet I've been on that isn't Earth." He replied and Thor let out a laugh. Their quantum suits disappeared leaving them in their normal clothes. Though the sight before him was pleasing, Thor had a feeling that they would encounter trouble soon enough. They were after the soul stone, the place would at least be guarded.

Raising stormbreaker into the air, the God of thunder brought the mighty axe down onto the ground. There was a flash of lightning before it disappeared and Thor was left in his battle armour. It had been five years since he had last felt the need to wear it. Though he lost quite a lot of weight during that time, the armour still fit comfortably as if it was tailored. His hair had been neatly braided out of his face. The soft breeze picked up his red cape causing it to dance in the wind. He hadn't felt more like himself since Asgard was destroyed. 

"Right, you ready?" Thor turned back to Bruce who had removed the top part of his clothing leaving him only in his trousers. That looked more like the hulk Thor had come to know on Sakaar. Banner nodded with a look of determination on his face,  
"Let's go get that stone."

They trekked across the waters leading up to the biggest mountain, Thor saw a shadow standing at the edge. That was the only other sign of life they'd seen since coming here. That had to be it, that had to be where the stone was. Thor and Bruce made their way up the mountain with ease, however when they reached the top, the shadow that Thor had seen was no longer there. Bruce looked over the edge of the cliff to see if there was anything down there and he suddenly felt incredibly anxious at how high up they were. That cliff went on for miles. 

"Anything?" Thor asked and Bruce shook his head. They were about to give up and search somewhere else, when suddenly,  
"Welcome,"

Thor reached for the stormbreaker poising it over his head ready to throw and Bruce fell into a battle stance, both looking to their right where someone had spoken.

"Thor, son of Odin," came the voice again.

"Bruce, son of Rebecca," the voice soon had an owner, it was the shadow Thor had seen before. A ghost like man, a hooded figure with a blood red face. But the stranger's face held no malice or anger. He lowered his weapon a little. 

"You know us?" Bruce asked.

"I am cursed to know everybody. You have travelled far for what you seek," the red skull said.

"Who are you?" Thor lowered his weapon completely.

"You could call me a guide, for the location of the soul stone" Red skull responded.

"You know what we came here for?" Thor then asked.

"The same thing everyone comes here searching for," with that, the Red Skull gestured toward the cliff's edge and Thor cautiously took a step forward to look over the edge.

"The stone is down there," he said.

"For one of you." Came the Red skull's reply.

Both Thor and Banner turned to look at Red skull then, both unsure what he meant by that.

"What does that mean?"

"For one to prove they can handle the responsibility of the soul stone, there is a price. An eternal sacrifice. In order to obtain it, you must lose that which you love. A soul....for a soul." 

Both Thor and Banner froze. They looked at the Red Skull, then to eachother before Bruce laughed,  
"That...that's crazy, no, y-you can't be serious," the Red skull remained perfectly silent.

Bruce looked at Thor again, he seemed...contemplative. Like he actually believed him,  
"Thor, you don't seriously believe this guy, do you?"

Thor didn't reply straight away, but he didn't have to. Bruce already knew the answer.

"Thor, he's lying. The guy just doesn't want to give us the stone," Bruce grabbed Thor by the shoulder. Thor met his eyes and placed his hand over Bruce's resting on his shoulder,  
"I dont know, Bruce. Thanos left here with the stone and without his daughter. That can't be a mere coincidence." 

Bruce had to admit that Thor was right. But it didn't solve one very important thing, "Well even if the guy is telling the truth, it's not like we can go through with this, right?"

"Bruce, if we don't do this then billions of people stay dead, some including my own," Thor replied. Bruce could feel himself starting to panic and he was quickly getting angry.  
"I mean, you heard the guy, it has to be someone you love."

Thor's frown was chased away by a smile as bright as the sun but at the same time it was sadder than the rainiest of days. He squeezed Banner's hand where it was still resting on his shoulder, "I know," 

The pieces quickly clicked together in Bruce's head and he suddenly felt like his eyes were going to explode out of his head. He wanted to feel overjoyed at Thor's unintentional revelation, but it was washed away by a strong feeling of grief. He moved his hand from Thor's shoulder and brought it to the side of his neck and brought the other to his cheek so that he was framing the God's face in his large hands.

"You know I love you too, right?" Bruce asked and Thor nodded as a tear slipped down his cheek. "I know."

The two stood like that for a long time before Bruce drew back and looked down at his feet. He felt his grief quickly melting away into what could only be described as acceptance. It was the fate of the universe, after all. Whatever it takes.

"Then I guess we both know which one of us it's gotta be," Bruce said and Thor nodded though his smile was wobbly. Bruce took Thor's much smaller hand in his own and Thor placed his other hand on top of the hulk's. When their eyes met again however, there was a look in Thor's eye that Bruce didn't like.  
He let go of Thor's hand and looked at him with confusion and concern,  
"I'm suddenly getting the feeling that we're talking about very different people here, Thor," Bruce searched his face trying to decipher what the God was thinking. 

"The past five years, it has all been leading up to this. This is what this is all about, this is why we're here doing this. It's all been about bringing everybody back," Thor's eyes looked like he was pleading with the hulk. 

"Don't you dare try and justify this, Thor," Banner growled at him.

"Do you think I want to do it? I'm the one who put us in this mess, its my duty to do whatever it takes to make up for my mistakes." Thor raised his voice.

"Yeah, well what if I don't want you to?" Bruce almost yelled, this time he was the one pleading. He took a deep breath and spoke again softer,  
"Thor, you're needed with the team. They need you a hell of a lot more than they need me." Bruce's voice lowered to a whisper.

The smile came back to Thor, "You're the strongest Avenger." Damn him.

"You brought me home, Bruce. You gave me a reason to fight again. Let me redeem the mistakes I made five years ago. Let me do something right," Thor pressed his head against the hulk's chest leaning into him. 

Bruce wanted to run to the edge of that cliff and scream until he couldn't anymore. He fought against the tears building in his eyes and put his arms around Thor, hugging him properly and resting his chin of Thor's head. Eventually pulling back, he tipped Thor's chin up to look at him. 

"You're a real pain in the ass, you know that?" Thor breathed a laugh at Bruce's words before the hulk drew away from the embrace. Banner's face turned grave, "Okay."

Thor's eyes widened before Bruce continued, "You win,"

 _Thank you, Bruce._ Thor gave a nod of appreciation to the hulk. He turned his attention toward the cliff.

Suddenly, Thor felt something behind his legs which caused his feet to slip out from underneath him and he was flipped so he landed on his back with the hulk hovering over him holding his arms over his head.

"Tell the guys, I'm sorry," Bruce said and overcome by rage, Thor kicked at Bruce's legs and punched his arm causing him to lose his balance. Bruce fell forward with a yell and Thor slipped out from underneath him before he was crushed under the weight. Rising to his feet, Thor stood over the stunned hulk. 

"I won't have to," Calling on his lightning, he sent a small blast towards Bruce. It wasn't enough to severely hurt him, but it was enough to hold him down. Bruce seized up through the shock of electricity and cried out. 

"I'm sorry, Bruce," Thor whispered before turning away from him and back towards the cliff edge. Everybody comes home, whatever it takes. 

Thor ran towards the cliff's edge. 

He ran with his life flashing before his eyes, every memory he had leading up to this point. _I'm coming home, Brother._

Thor jumped.

He closed his eyes. Completely accepting his fate as he began to fall. Then there was a loud shout from behind him and suddenly he wasn't falling anymore. There was a tight grip on his wrist. 

Opening his eyes, Thor looked up to see what had saved him from the fall. Bruce was on the edge of the cliff on his front, reaching down as far as his arm would allow him, using his other hand to hold onto the edge so they both didn't fall. Bruce was staring into his eyes with such intensity and pain that Thor couldn't help the guilt crawling up the back of his throat. Bruce's eyes shined with tears. "Hold on, Thor,"  
his voice was strained as he struggled to keep hold of them both.

Thor took a moment to look down at the drop. He wasn't scared of death. He never had been. He wasn't worth half the universe. He wasn't worth more people dying at the hands of Thanos. This was his fate. 

He looked back up to Bruce, who was trying to pull him up and hold onto the cliff at the same time. With pleading eyes, Thor said the only thing he could say.

"Let me go." _It will all be okay, Bruce. I promise. You would never hurt me. I know that it shouldn't be you to do this and I'm sorry. I hope you can forgive me. Everything's going to be alright now. If I could've chosen to spend my last moments with anybody, I'm glad it was you. Thank you, Bruce, for everything._

"No!" Bruce shouted back before a tear escaped and ran down his face,  
"Thor, please don't!" 

Thor just smiled.

"It's going to be alright,"

Bruce shook his head in disbelief,  
"Thor, please.. "

Bringing his feet against the wall of the cliff, Thor pushed as hard as he could and he felt his hand slip from Bruce's grasp and he let himself fall.

"NO!" Bruce shouted as he watched Thor fall. He kept his hand outstretched, still trying to reach him even though it was impossible. Bruce tried to turn away but he took one final glance back down the cliff. 

Thor lay at the bottom on his back with his arms spread wide and his red cape spread out at his side. Blood pooled around his blonde hair. 

No longer able to hold back his tears, Bruce let out a loud hulk-like roar that was filled with grief before he was engulfed in a flash of light that made everything fade to black. 

When Bruce woke up again, he was in a pool of black. Sitting himself up his rubbed his eyes and was struck by the sudden hope that it was all a dream. There was a glow coming from within his fist. When he opened his hand, there it was. Exactly what they'd come here for. In his open palm, lay the soul stone. 

Bruce knew he should be happy that they'd completed their mission. But it had come at too high a price. He wiped his cheek and his hand came away damp with tears. _Dammit, Thor..._  
Bruce gasped at the incredible ache he felt in his chest and punched the water he was surrounded with as he quietly wept.

He wasn't allowed much time to mourn his friend before he found himself back in his quantum suit. They'd done it, they'd get the stones. Banner made sure to hold the stone as tight as he could. If he lost this, he would never forgive himself. This stone had cost him Thor's life, the least he could do was make it count for something. Bruce closed his eyes as he felt himself being sucked back into the quantum realm. 

In a flash they were all back at the compound. Their helmets detached and the Avengers had the biggest smiles of disbelief on their faces.

Rhodey laughed, "Are you telling me this actually worked?" 

Bruce watched the team as they all laughed relieved they had succeeded on their mission. Steve smiled over to Banner but it was quickly replaced by a confused frown at the fact Bruce had returned alone. 

"Bruce, where's Thor?" The captain asked. Bruce didn't reply, he couldn't. 

The group all seemed to immediately understand what had happened as no one was smiling or laughing anymore.

"Hey, big green, where's Thor?" Rocket asked. The raccoon's eyes were confused, Bruce could tell his cocky smile was forced. He didn't want to accept it. Bruce couldn't blame him. Looking at Rocket, it was like explaining death to a child for the first time. 

"I'm sorry, Rocket," Bruce said and the raccoon began shaking his head. No. This can't happen, Thor can't die. He's Thor, for crying out loud. No, Thor couldn't be dead. He couldn't lose anyone else. The raccoon dropped to his knees, his head bowed low. 

"Well we have the stones, right? We can use them to bring him back, right?" Rocket was pleading with them. 

Steve and Tony couldn't quite process it. They shared a look with eachother. Thor, God of thunder, Pointbreak. The Asgardian prince with a heart of gold. He was dead? Their best friend was dead.

"Come on, get it together! Why are we acting like he's dead?! We have the stones, we can use them to bring him back!" Rocket yelled and Bruce wasn't sure who exactly he was trying to convince.

"It can't be undone. That's what the floating red guy said anyway. Trust me if I could go back and do it myself, Rocket, I would! I would do anything if it meant he was standing here with us, because it was supposed to be me! I was supposed to be the one to fall, to make that sacrifice! Thor should be here right now and I shouldn't!" Bruce pounded his fist into the floor, creating a dent. His breathing was harsh and heavy.

"He bid his life on that stone, now he's gone. It can't be undone. We have to make this right, Steve. We have to make this count, for him," Banner said. 

Steve looked at Bruce, "We will," he declared. 

"We will," 

There was a glow that entered the room through the window, it was so intense that people had to cover their eyes. After a moment, however, it settled a little. Enough so that the group could see properly. The sight outside was breathtaking.

The sun was shining brighter than ever. 

Bruce stood ahead of the rest of the Avengers and he walked towards the blinding sunlight, which only appeared to grow brighter with every step Bruce took towards it. A slow smile came to Bruce's face as he pressed up against the window, it was like the sky was smiling at him. Bruce's eyes filled with fresh tears and one fell as he smiled widely at the sun.

_Hi Thor._


	2. In the heart of the storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Days after Thor fell to his death on Vormir, the gauntlet is ready to bring everybody back. Desperate to avenge his friend, Bruce makes it his mission to snap his fingers even if it kills him. Whatever it takes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! I'm back with another chapter for this story! And this isn't the end either, this work is part of a series, I'm working on the sequel which will tie in with the changes I'm making to 'Undying fidelity' for now, enjoy the story!!

It had been three days since the time heist. Tony and Rocket were working on creating the gauntlet in the lab. Bruce knew he should probably be helping them. He hadn't left his room since he came back from Vormir. It was all he could think about. Hanging off the edge of the cliff, holding onto Thor's hand and begging him not to let go, Thor falling, Thor laying lifeless at the bottom of the cliff. The image never left Bruce's head. He couldn't even sleep. 

Part of him wanted to hate Thor for letting go. He wanted to be angry with him. But he couldn't. He hated that he'd only just reunited with Thor, only to lose him again so quickly. 

Last night was horrible. He called Valkyrie and told her what had happened. Her first question after answering the phone was, how was Thor. He couldn't bring himself to answer, the cowardly part of him wanted to just hang up the phone. She must've grown suspicious of the silence because she repeated the question. He could hear the panic rising in her voice everytime she repeated the question. And then he told her. It came out in three words, "Thor is dead." He heard her gasp on the other side. Then no more words were spoken, there was a crash on her end and Bruce decided at that moment to hang up the phone.

_Thor is dead._

_Thor is dead._

_Thor is dead._

It played over and over again in his head like a really annoying song. Bruce felt guilty. It should've been him. Thor shouldn't have died. He should be here. He deserved to live.

There was a tapping at his door. He was tempted to let out the hulk in him and yell at them to go away. The door opened before he had the chance. Bruce wasn't surprised when he saw Steve poke his head into the room.

"Hey, you doing alright?" The captain asked. Bruce could've burst out laughing at the absurdity of the question. Steve himself winced as the words left his mouth. 

"Sorry," 

"Don't worry about it. We're all grieving." Bruce sat up on his bed and stretched. Steve came into the room properly, closing the door behind him. 

There was a short silence and then Steve said, "I know it's been years since we last saw him, but after seeing him again, I just can't get over him being gone. There was a time when I thought he was indestructible, you know, being a God an' all. I should've seen how much he was suffering. I should've gone to him sooner. I should've been there for him. He was always there for us." 

Bruce looked down at the floorboards. They all should've been there.

"I miss him," his voice broke trying to get out the three simple words. Steve sighed by the door.

"Me too." 

Bruce turned his gaze back to Steve,  
"How's everyone else doing?" 

"They're all hanging in there. I think they're all just tired of losing people. First the snap, now Thor. It's just really gotten to them. The world outside just seems alot less bright without him in it." Steve looked past Bruce to the window.

"We need you down there, Bruce. Tony and Rocket are nearly done with the gauntlet but they miss you. We all do. If we're gonna do this then we need to do it together. Now more than ever. It's what Thor would've wanted." Bruce's eyes snapped up to Steve, the captain opened the door and turned to walk out. Before closing the door again, he took one last look back at the hulk over his shoulder.

"Come down whenever you're ready, we'll be waiting for you." And Bruce was left alone again. 

Steve was right, Thor wouldn't want him to give up. The time heist had gone successfully because of Thor. And now it was up to them to finish it. Bruce would avenge his friend's death. He had to. Thor killed Thanos after he took everything from him, he wouldn't allow Thanos to win in the afterlife. What the hell was he doing? Sitting here wallowing in self pity. Thor sacrificed himself to save the universe, now he had to help them avenge their friend. 

When he came down to the lab, Bruce was mildly surprised to see everyone was there gathering around. He caught sight of what they were all standing round as the stones were placed in the iron gauntlet.

"So the glove is ready," Rocket said,  
"Question is, who's gonna snap their frickin fingers?" The group took turns looking at eachother. 

"I'll do it,"

All eyes turned to the door where Bruce was standing looking grim. The hulking man walked over to the group, some of them looking at him in shock.

"You saw what those stones did to Thanos, they almost killed him. None of you could survive, it has to be me," Bruce explained. 

Natasha was trying to keep her trained stoic expression, though her emotions were somewhat betraying her. She crossed her arms over her chest and approached him, "How can we be sure you will?" 

Bruce tried to smile at her, "We don't. But the radiation is mostly gamma. I'd have a better chance." 

Bruce turned to Stark and Rogers, who also looked contemplative.

"Please let me do this. Let me do something helpful," he pleaded with them. Steve gave a shake of his head,  
"Bruce-"

"Let me do it for him."

That made Steve go quiet. Rocket looked down at his feet looking grief stricken. 

Then there was a knock at the front door.

Everyone turned to eachother, looking confused. Rhodey turned to Stark,  
"You expecting anyone?" Stark shook his head. 

There was another knock. Natasha looked around at the room of confused faces before sighing in frustration,  
"Alright, I'll get it," she left the room. Rogers and Bruce following behind her.  

At the front door, Natasha pressed the buzzer to open the door. She saw a woman on the other side, with long dark brown hair in a very intricate braid cascading over her shoulder. Well she'd never seen this woman before,  
"Hi, can we help you?" Natasha asked the woman. 

Bruce stepped forward ahead of Natasha, "Valkyrie?" 

Steve glanced back and forth between the two, "You two know eachother?" 

Bruce smiled sadly at the Valkyrie though she didn't smile back, she looked like she hadn't slept in days.  
"She's my friend. She lived with Thor on New Asgard. I told you about her when I explained what happened on Sakaar and stopping Thor's sister and Ragnarok." 

The Valkyrie held out her hand to Natasha. "We haven't met yet. I am Valkyrie of New Asgard. We left to come here last night, Asgard is demanding justice for the loss of their king. I am here to get revenge for my best friend." Bruce heard her sniffle and look down and Natasha's expression seemed to soften and she shook hands with the Valkyrie. 

Steve spoke up from behind the hulk and the assassin, "Wait, who's 'we'?"  
Valkyrie cleared her throat, not quite meeting the captain's eyes. As if on cue, the avengers turned to the sound of gravelled footsteps coming round the side of the building.

"Brunhilde? I've circled the place, there doesn't appear to be another way in, has anybody-" the voice stopped when he saw several Avengers standing ahead of the Valkyrie at the entrance of the building. 

Bruce didn't think his eyes could get any wider. Now standing just a few feet behind Valkyrie was another tall figure, a man, with long black hair looking freshly trimmed up to his shoulders, he was dressed in dark green leather armour, he looked much like he had the last time Bruce had seen him. 

"Loki?" Bruce half shouted. 

The God in question gave a smirk that didn't quite seem genuine, "Ah, Bruce, last time I saw you, you were definitely shorter and much less green. Where are you at these days?" 

Bruce gave a short laugh at his own words being turned back on him that he said during their last reunion. Though he could tell Loki's smile was forced, he didn't look much better than Valkyrie but even that wasn't saying much. When Bruce looked back he saw that Steve and Nat had completely frozen.

"Nat? Who's at the door?" Came the shout from behind them. After a moment, Clint appeared in the hallway. 

He took one look at the woman he'd never seen before, his brow furrowed in confusion.

He took one look at Loki. His blood went cold. 

"What the hell is he doing here?" Clint asked in a dangerously calm voice. Loki smirked at the archer,  
"Agent Barton,"

"Thor said he was dead, what is he doing here?" Clint sounded on the verge of yelling. Loki cleared his throat gathering everyone's attention.

"I'm right here, thanks. Believe it or not, Barton, I'm not here to cause harm." Loki said. 

Clint scoffed at the trickster though he looked livid, "I think I know better than to take your word for it. What? You here to finish what you started, take over everyone's mind this time? Control whatever people are left on the planet?" 

"You may find this hard to believe, Barton, but this isn't about you," Loki sounded disinterested.

"You think that because big brother isn't here to stop you this time that we'll all just surrender to you?" Clint yelled.

It was the first time any of the Avengers had seen the God of mischief freeze. Any quick witted response Loki had died on his tongue at the mention of his brother. Whatever grief he felt the night before had struck him again tenfold. The lump building up in his throat, the horrible ache he felt in his chest, the agonising grief that stabs into your heart the moment you are told your brother is dead after so long of trying to find him again.  
                            ........

_Coming back to life again was painful to say the least. When Loki woke, he wasn't sure where he was. It looked like falling into the void all over again._

_Everything around him was pitch black. He didn't know where he was. This certainly wasn't the golden halls of Valhalla, which would've been preferable. He was also pretty sure this wasn't Hellheim, he was sure Hela would've found him by now if he were there._

_Loki was stuck in the middle of nowhere. Just his luck. After so heroically giving his life for his brother, he thought the Norns would be so merciful as to send his soul to Valhalla._

_Oh Gods, Thor. Loki didn't even know if Thor had still made it after Thanos' slaughter. He hoped he had. But then, his brother was one of the most powerful beings in the universe. He was a God.  And that was something Thanos would never be. He made sure the mad titan knew it before he died._

_Thor was still alive, he had to be._

_Then there was light. Like at the end of a tunnel. Loki tried to move towards it but his body was refusing to obey him. His limbs stayed firmly at his side like he was floating on water. The light was getting brighter. The trickster squinted to block it out as it continued to grow in intensity until it was practically blinding._

_He wanted to cry out for help. He did. He called out. But his voice felt like he'd been stabbed in the throat and then he remembered how exactly he'd ended up here in the first place and realised trying to talk wasn't the brightest idea he'd had._

_"Loki Odinson," a voice called to him. The voice was soft, gentle, it sounded welcoming._

_There was a figure standing over his head. Surrounded by the blinding light and shading it from the God of mischief's eyes._

_"Who are you?" Loki rasped._

_"I am Verdandi. The norn of what is coming into being. You appear to have lost your way to the afterlife, little trickster." The figure then had a face. She was pale and fair, with long white hair._

_"Where am I?" Loki asked, feeling his voice slowly return to him._

_"Stuck on the branches of yggdrasil, child." The goddess replied. Through the blinding light, two more silhouettes joined Verdandi, just as fair, with long white hair._

_"These are my sisters, Skuld and Urd, the Norns of what has been and what will be." The angelic voice said._

_Loki's fear won against his patience and he was in no mood to be polite to the three strange women. "Why am I here?"_

_"Your soul is trapped between life and death. Your will to live is as strong as your will to die, therefore your soul cannot pass to the afterlife." Said the goddess on the left. Loki only felt more confused._

_"So, I'm not dead?" He asked and Verdandi actually smiled softly at him,_  
_"Nay, little trickster, nor are you alive. Your soul cannot decide whether to journey to Valhalla, or return to the land of the living."_

_Return to life? He could do that? He could go back to Thor, if he was even still alive. The thought itself spurred a deep anxiety in his gut. Or he could journey to Valhalla, he earned his place in Valhalla. He could see his mother again, he could finally be at peace._

_"We have helped many souls pass to the afterlife ever since the one they call the mad titan erased half the universe." Loki gasped painfully at the words of the Norns. Thanos had done it. He'd beaten the Avengers. He'd beaten his brother. No. No, he couldn't have! Loki told the mad titan before he died that he would never be a God. His nightmare had come true. Thanos succeeded in his goal. He killed half of all living creatures. The pain in Loki's neck was starting to make it difficult to breathe. It was like being crushed by the titan all over again._

_"And my brother, is he still alive?" Loki had to know. His worry worsened when the Norns seemed to contemplate their answer._

_"The Stormbreaker still lives, yet his soul is scarred." Verdandi answered, still smiling softly. She brushed her fingers across Loki's neck and in an instant, the burning pain he felt in his throat faded away to nothing. He breathed in deeply, grateful for the air that quickly filled his lungs like he'd been held underwater for so long he was on the brink of drowning._

_Skuld reached out to Loki, placing her hand to his forehead, the trickster's vision blurred until all he could see was white. What did she do to him? Why couldn't he see anymore? Loki could feel their presence around him, he just couldn't see anything._

_"Be calm, little prince, we will not harm you," said Urd, the sweeter of the three voices._

_"What did you do to me?!" Loki shouted back._

_Then Loki's vision began to clear. There was another rush of white and then he could see. He was in a garden._

_From the look of the sky, Loki knew this wasn't Midgard. He'd never been here before, but somehow the place seemed familiar. It was like a place you would only see in a dream. There were miles and miles of long grass and plants. Much to his surprise, Loki found that he could move. His feet planted on the footpath separating the grass._

_Loki's eyes followed the footpath all the way up to the hill where a little house rested at the top looking over the garden. The place appeared to be deserted. He walked along the path up to the bottom of the hill._

_His breath stopped short when he saw the mad titan walking up the steps to the hut._

_Thanos' back was to Loki as he walked up the steps to his little shack. He was carrying a basket in one hand and the other still wielded the infinity gauntlet. Or rather, what was left of the gauntlet. The glove looked like it had melded itself with the skin of Thanos' arm, that was covered from hand to shoulder in ugly burn marks that made Loki wonder how he still had use of his arm. Whatever had happened, Loki hoped it hurt. He hoped it felt a billion times worse than having his head crushed by an infinity stone, or having the life slowly choked out of you. He hoped that the titan was suffering._

_Why had the Norns brought him here? Of all places to show him, why show him the living space of the monster who had torn his mind and soul to pieces, the creature who tortured him until he cried every single day seeming to relish in his desperate cries for his brother to come and save him. The person who took his life from him the moment he found him._

_Loki tried again to call out to the Norns and beg them to take him back, show him no more of this. Thanos already killed him once, couldn't he finally he free of him? The Norns didn't reply nor did they take him away from the scene. Figuring that they wanted him to see whatever was going on, Loki summoned all the courage he could muster and began walking up the hill._

_The shack was even smaller up close. He looked through the hole in the wall that resembled a window and looked inside. Thanos was leaning over a fire in the middle of the floor and was stirring something in a pot placed over the top of the flames. There was no joy on the titan's face, no look of victory over his success. There was no remorse either, though Loki didn't figure there would be. Thanos looked...tired. He wasn't armed in anyway shape or form, his armour Loki had seen standing in the middle of the field. A careless move if Loki had ever seen one._

_Loki startled and fell backwards when something came crashing through the walls looking like a ball of fire. No one heard him. They probably couldn't see him either. The ball of fire died down and Loki saw a woman it it's place. She had long blonde hair and was dressed in a red and blue suit like the rest of the midgardian heroes. If this was an avenger, Loki had never seen her before._

_The woman launched herself at Thanos, punching him and grabbing him in a headlock, some strange energy flowing across her arms and shielding her from Thanos' attacks to pry her off him. The mad titan raised the hand wielding the gauntlet but before he could use it, his hand was grabbed by another bursting out of the ground. Loki recognised one of Stark's suits holding Thanos' arm down. Loki began to feel hopeful. Another iron suit came crashing in and grabbed Thanos' other arm, this one was silver and black. Thanos was now rendered helpless._

_There was another crash from beside Loki's head and his head snapped up to see a man fly into the room, in black leather armour, a long red flowing cape and shorn blond hair, wielding a mighty axe. Thor. It all happened so quickly, his brother landed in front of Thanos and with a yell he lifted the axe and brought it down on the titan's arm slicing clean through it. The severed hand landed on the floor with a thud and the titan cried out in pain. Loki smirked grimly at the titan as he writhed in pain under the Avengers' hold._

_Then a raccoon of all things jumped off Thor's shoulder and hurried to move the severed gauntlet out of the way. Loki recognised the familiar faces of agent Romanov and Captain Rogers as they entered the hut too._

_The racoon looked up, his expression being one of despair and it didn't take Loki long to realise as to why, the stones were gone. "Oh no," the racoon muttered. So it could talk? That was new._

_"Where are they?" Steve asked. There was more back and forth nonsense spilling from Thanos' mouth that Loki couldn't be less interested in hearing. Thor was right, he really did talk too much. This continued until Thanos was shoved backwards by the larger of the iron suits with the person inside yelling,_  
_"You murdered trillions!" That sounded like Bruce. Loki felt somewhat glad that the man hiding the monster had made it back to Earth alive._

_"You should be grateful!" Thanos snapped back, to which Bruce struck him across the face sending him back to the ground. Loki could've laughed at the weakened titan. He definitely liked Bruce Banner a lot more than he used to._

_"Where are they?" That came from miss Romanov, she certainly looked different than the last time they met. She was teary eyed and shaking, Loki felt a stab of sympathy for her. Like and because of Barton, Loki knew everything he needed to know about her past. He felt for her. He also didn't fail to notice the absences of Agent Barton and Tony Stark._

_"Gone. Reduced to atoms." He said it so easily. It was almost chilling._

_"You used them two days ago!" Bruce bit back._

_"I used the stones to destroy the stones. It nearly killed me," shame it didn't, though Loki had a feeling that wouldn't last long._

_"We gotta tear this place up, h-he has to he lying," said the man in the black iron suit, Loki didn't meet him last time either._

_"My father is many things, a liar is not one of them," Nebula stepped forward. Loki remembered her. Not in a good way.  She and her sister hardly ever got involved in the torture Thanos inflicted on Loki, no that was usually down to the Maw, but she didn't hesitate to come running if her father whistled._

_Said father looked up to her appreciatively and the corners of his mouth turned upwards at her,_  
_"Ah, thank you, daughter," Nebula cast her eyes down to the ground refusing to meet his eye. That made Loki curious. What had happened to the girl who was oh so desperate to please her father?_

_Thanos continued, "Perhaps I treated you too harshly-"_

_Whatever he was about to say next was completely cut off as Thor stepped forward, raising the giant axe above his head and bringing it down, slicing through Thanos' neck like it was butter. Loki failed to hold in his gasp this time. The body of the titan slumped to the floor and his head landed next to it in a pool of purple._

_Loki looked back to his brother's face. Thor's eyes looked disturbingly lifeless and empty and his expression was cold. It didn't look like his brother at all. Thor stared down at the titan's corpse, there was no look of victory on his face like he usually had after defeating an enemy. No one else was smiling either. No one else looked happy that they won against Thanos and Loki came to a sickening realisation then, that they hadn't won anything._

_"What...what did you do?" The raccoon looked at Thor, the God of thunder didn't turn away from Thanos._

_"..I went for the head," Thor's voice cracked with emotion. Loki felt an ache in his chest at his brother's words. Before he knew it, Thor was walking out of the cabin, leaving everybody else inside with the slain titan. Eyes followed Thor as he walked back down the steps._

_Loki followed his brother down the steps, Thor's eyes were staring straight ahead, his walk was almost robotic whilst he dragged his weapon across the grass behind him. Loki was about to call out to his brother, but then remembered Thor wouldn't be able to hear him. All Loki could do was follow._

_It turned out he wasn't the only one who followed Thor out because he then heard Bruce calling Thor's name. Thor stopped walking, but he didn't turn around._

_"Thor? Where are you going?" Bruce had freed himself of his iron suit and gave Thor a worried look. Thor still wouldn't turn around. The skies began to turn black._

_The God of thunder stared up at the sky as the first drop of rain hit his face and thunder boomed in the distance. Bruce slowly walked closer until Thor said,_  
_"The job is done. We can go home now."_

_Bruce froze. So did Loki. The lack of emotion on Thor's face and the rasping in his voice was beginning to concern the trickster. When Thor still didn't turn around, Bruce came closer until he was within arms reach of Thor. The rain quickly grew heavier and the skies were so dark one would think it was night._

_"Thor." Bruce reached out to his friend and placed his hand on Thor's shoulder. Thor still refused to turn around.  
"Thor, are you okay?" Bruce asked the one question Loki wanted to hear the answer to._

_Both Bruce and Thor were quickly becoming soaked in the heavy rain and Thor finally turned to face Bruce. He looked behind the scientist's head to see Steve and Natasha walking out too, both looking grave and concerned. The God of thunder took one look at them and then back down to Bruce, he placed his hand over the one Bruce had rested on his shoulder._

_"I have to go."_

_Thor turned back around and continued his way down the hill until he was at the bottom. Bruce could only watch him go. He stared after Thor with grief and shock on his face as Thor lifted his axe above his head again and the Bifrost carried the God of thunder away._

_Loki watched the entire scene unfold, after the bifrost faded away leaving nothing but scorched grass in its wake, Loki felt his eyes burning. He furiously rubbed them to keep control of his emotions. Something about the way Thor left was too final. He imagined he felt the same way Bruce did. Though Loki wasn't there, it somehow felt like the ending of a chapter in the story that was his life. His worst nightmare was vanquished by the one Loki had considered his hero since he was a little boy. But his brother had gone so easily like he had simply turned to dust, never to be seen again. Like he never existed._

_Loki gasped when he was pulled back to the present. The Norns still stood around him looking at Loki expectedly._

_"What...what did you show me?" Loki asked them, his voice was high with emotion but he fought to keep it down. Verdandi stepped forward again,_  
_"We have shown you the present. This is what waits in the land of the living."_

_So the epilogue to Loki's life after death was that the mad man who believed himself a God reigned victorious while half the universe was reduced to ashes?  
No. Thanos couldn't win. He wouldn't win. Not against his brother, and certainly not against him. After all Thanos made him suffer, this time Loki would emerge victorious, this time with Thor by his side. He'd already died trying once and was now at rock bottom and there was only one way left to go after that._

_Pulling put of his thoughts and looking back to the waiting Norns, Loki said, "Send me back."_

_The Norns then smiled again and Skuld held something out to the trickster. It was a long greying thread. Loki cautiously took it from them, keeping his eyes on the sisters incase this was a trap._  
_"What is this?"_

_"Every tapestry has a thread. When the soul passes then their thread is cut. This one is yours, liesmith. If you find your way back to life, your thread will be restored." The Norn of what's to came explained._

_Then Loki was presented with another thread. This one was much longer and shined a magnificent gold. A strong current flowing through it for a strong soul._

_"This one belongs to your brother, the Stormbreaker. His thread is strong but is beginning to fray. Keep it with you on your journey. The closer you are to his soul, the brighter it will glow. It may make your journey easier." Skuld smiled wider at the trickster and Loki actually gave her a small smile in return to show he was grateful._

_After climbing the branches of yggdrasil to return to life, Loki used his Seidr to call forth the threads that the Norns had given him from their pocket dimension that he threw them into, Only to find that they wouldn't come to his hand anymore._

_Loki wondered how Thor would react to seeing him alive again. Thor would probably kill him before he could explain himself. Loki wouldn't blame him for doing so. He had done this to Thor too many times. He remembered Thor begging Loki not to let go as they both hung from the bifrost. He remembered Thor's cries as he was impaled by the monster who killed their mother. He remembered Thor's pleading eyes staring up at him as Thanos grabbed him by the throat._

_He remembered the emptiness in Thor's eyes as he brutally killed the mad titan and stared down at his decapitated body._

_Loki was born the God of mischief and lies, but not cruelty. Growing up, Thor had always been the main target for Loki to cause trouble. He had often taken advantage of Thor's ever trusting nature even before Loki found out his true heritage. Thor's friends would call him cruel. Thor never did. More often than not, Thor would praise Loki for his tricks, smile and pat his back and tell him he was progressing and Loki would feel guilty and infuriated that his brother was so trusting in him._

_But Loki wasn't the only one who would try and take advantage of Thor's heart of gold. For some reason, when someone else hurt his brother, Loki was filled with rage and he made sure whoever it was suffered for it._

_Loki knew that faking his death was cruel. Despite everything Odin put him through, Thor always tried to pull him back from the edge when he never even knew of Odin's lies. Odin may have favoured Thor throughout their lives, but Thor never knew any better. That's how Loki knew when they held onto eachother as they hung from the bifrost, Thor was as confused and frightened as he was and he would never hurt Loki like that. Hearing Thor cry out for him after he let go broke his heart._

_When Loki arrived on Earth, Thor found him again, begging for him to come home. Like the tricks he played on Thor growing up, his brother would suffer and then forgive him for it. Loki waited for Thor to give up on him._

_Faking his death on Svartalfheim wasn't planned, it was all he could think of to keep himself from being imprisoned again. He didn't think Thor would mourn him. Thor wasn't the same after they reunited again. He was angry, Loki expected that after figuring out he'd been posing as their father for years. He expected to he suffocated with questions, he expected a fight. Loki expected Thor to at least yell at him. He never did. In that cell on Sakaar, Loki understood how deep he hurt his brother. But he never was one for sentiment._

_It would've been so easy to run away after escaping Sakaar, to take the ship and travel the galaxy without any responsibilities. But his brother's final words to him before they parted on the trash planet was that there was always the opportunity to grow and change, be more than what he'd always been. By choosing to leave Thor to fight Hela alone would be proving his brother right that he had become predictable. If there was one thing Loki wouldn't tolerate, it was being proved wrong by his brother._

_But Thor knew he would come back._

_Loki always came back._

_Would Thor ask him to stay this time?_

_His entire body ached from travelling up the worlds tree. When he returned to consciousness properly, he was in excruciating pain from his neck. He felt his vertebrae fixing back into place and he couldn't even scream. When it was over, the exhaustion he felt after travelling for so long made itself known and he finally let himself rest._

_It took a long time to find the Asgardians. Loki used as much energy and seidr he could muster to find Asgard. Of course his brother would choose Earth of all places to rebuild their once glorious world. New Asgard was grey and...very quiet. The most noise Loki heard was the sounds of the sea crashing into the cliffside. Asgard had been so full of life, people everywhere you looked, the sun as golden as the city itself. People still roamed the streets here, but there were a greater few._

_Loki cloaked himself so he wouldn't be recognised, the last thing he needed was the remaining quarter of the population surrounding him and asking him questions. Until he saw a very familiar Kronan standing by one of the houses and talking to a couple of children. Loki convinced himself that asking his brother's rocky friend for help was a terrible idea. But he was the closest source to finding Thor that he'd seen so far._

_Loki kept the cloak on as he approached Korg, clearing his throat to catch his attention. And when that didn't work, Loki lightly tapped the kronan's shoulder. Korg turned to him._

_"Hey, man." Korg said. Loki tried not to roll his eyes._

_"Good day, sir. I was wondering if I could have a minute of your time. I'm new here and I'm looking for somebody." Loki explained to try and move Korg away from the children._

_"Are you an Asgardian? Funny, I thought we got everybody who survived up in space already. Who are you looking for, bud?" The children had grown bored by this point and had run off to continue a game. Loki revealed himself. Korg gasped._

_"Don't say a word," Loki quickly warned as it looked like Korg was about to scream. He covered himself again,  
"Can we talk in private?"_

_After that, Korg led Loki away from the streets and up to the cliffs looking over the ocean. The scene was very familiar to what Odin had shown him before he passed. After seeing no one around, Loki let the disguise drop. There was a brief silence between the two._

_"So, are you a ghost?" Korg blurted out._

_Loki's brow furrowed, "What?"_

_"Well, your brother said you were dead. You died saving his life, those were his words. But you look very much alive to me, man," Korg said and after a beat he reached out curiously and poked Loki's arm before pulling away like he'd been bitten. Loki rolled his eyes again._

_"I assure you, Korg, I am very much alive. I'm aware of everything that's happened too. My meeting with the Norns was very insightful." Loki was running out of patience with the kronan already, but he didn't have the strength or the energy to snap at him. Honestly, he could do with a rest. It went quiet again for a moment._

_Then Loki asked,"So, how long did it take for my brother to put this place together?"_

_Korg actually chuckled, though there was a look of sadness on his face that Loki didn't understand._

_"Well, when me and Val brought the survivors back to Earth, we finally managed to get in contact with Thor and he told us where to go. Asgard was so happy their king was alive, for a moment it looked like they finally had hope after the snap took away even more of them. Thor and Val had many meetings with the government about if we were allowed to stay and after about a month, they gave us this place. Not as nice as Asgard, mind you, but at least we have somewhere to call home now."_

_"Thor and whatever Asgardians were left turned it into what it is today, you know with houses and stuff. He did alot of it by himself though. He never really spoke much to anyone when it was all done. Once he built his own place, he kind of shut down in it. He'd only ever really come out to get more booze and then he was gone again. Val practically lived there with him and me and Meik would sometimes go up and play video games with them. But there were alot more bad days than good, man, I'll tell you that. He always said he was fine when we caught him crying. He always said dont worry when he was too drunk to walk. Come to think of it, I dont think I've heard the guy laugh in years."_

_Loki had been listening to every word Korg said, beginning to think he may have underestimated the Kronan's intelligence after all. But the last word the rock man said made Loki freeze. Years?_

_"Korg?" The kronan turned back to him._

_"How long has it been since the snap?" Loki asked, voice coming out almost like a whisper. Korg suddenly looked mournful and sympathetic,  
"Oh no," he said._

_Loki felt the dread clawing up his throat as he waited for the kronan to answer._  
_"Buddy, you've been gone for over five years."_

_It was rare for Loki to be caught off guard multiple times in one day. He knew he'd had a long journey, he knew he'd most likely been away for longer than he anticipated. But five years later than the events the Norns had shown him? Loki found it hard to breathe again._

_"And Thor?" Finally getting onto the topic of his brother, who Loki had returned for in the first place,  
"How does my brother fare after all this time?"_

_Korg didn't answer. The kronan looked shocked, then uncomfortable, then just plain sad before staring down at his feet. Loki began breathing hard, his heartbeat increasing at a rapid pace._

_"Where is he?" Still no reply._

_"Where is my brother, Korg?!" Loki didn't mean to raise his voice at the obviously upset rock man. But he was beginning to panic. Why was no one answering the question?_

_Korg looked back to the trickster and placed a pebbly palm on his shoulder._  
_"You'll find Val in that house on the hill. For what it's worth, I'm sorry I wasn't more helpful."_

_Loki wanted to shout after the kronan as he left and force an answer out of him. Instead, as soon as Korg was out of sight, Loki was running. He ran away from the cliff, back through the streets, not giving a damn who saw him anymore. He didn't slow down for a second as he ran up the steep hills towards the house Korg had pointed him to._

_Without giving it any thought, Loki pounded on the door. He waited a few seconds without a response before pounding again, his patience completely gone by this point._

_It took two more knocks before someone finally opened the door. Valkyrie bore an expression that said she was ready to butcher whoever stood on the other side of the door. Her hair was down and knotted in a few places that Loki noticed. Her eyes were red and bloodshot with noticeable bags underneath them. If she didn't look so exhausted, Loki would think she'd just woken up. She looked like she hadn't slept in days._

_Her expression turned from tired, to angry, to stunned, to almost fearful all in the space of two seconds. Her hand reached out from behind the blanket she had draped over her shoulders to point a shaking finger at him._

_"Y-You..." her voice was shaking as much as her body. Loki was wary for a moment that she would collapse on him and he took a step closer to her. "Valkyrie-"_

_A split second later he was sent stumbling backwards as she belted him across the face. He couldn't see straight for a moment and he held his hand over his jaw as the stinging pain throbbed in his face. He dared to take another look back at her and saw she was practically trembling with rage._

_"What was that for?!" Loki asked and quickly shielded his face with his arms as she swung at him again._

_"You! You dare question me after you spend five years making us believe you were dead?! And then you show up here just as soon as-" the Valkyrie's breath hitched and she couldn't say any more. Loki's features softened when the Valkyrie looked like she was about to cry._

_"So, how did you come back to life this time?" She asked him, her face turning stoic again. Loki looked contemplative for a second before sighing heavily,  
"Can I come in?"_

_Once they were both inside, Loki explained to the best of his ability everything he had been through since Thanos attacked the Statesman. Valkyrie offered him a drink several times, which he politely declined but it didn't stop her from going through an entire six pack while he told his story. When he was done, she looked at him deadpan,  
"Trust you to take the longest route possible to make it back to the land of the living."_

_She then proceeded to tell him about the construction of New Asgard and the state of the few Asgardians that Thanos left behind. Her story was considerably shorter than his. She then told him how Bruce had visited a few days ago with a talking racoon claiming the Avengers had a plan to bring everyone back, they came because they needed Thor's help and he had left with them to avenge the fallen through time travel of all things._

_"Any idiot could see he was in no fit state to go anywhere, but you know better than anyone how stubborn he is." Valkyrie looked down at her beer and Loki waited for her to continue._

_"These last five years, he has done nothing but blame himself for everything. The weight loss and the excessive drinking weren't even the worst of it, far from it. Lackey, I can't even put it into words how bad it was."  Loki began to get an idea from how her eyes were shining again like she was about to cry. There was something she wasn't telling him, Loki could tell._

_"So if Thor left with the Avengers to bring everyone back, why didn't you go with him?" He asked. A tear slipped down the Valkyrie's face and Loki's concern was growing fast._

_"Someone has to look after the people, they've been through enough. Someone has to lead them into the future." She explained looking away from the trickster again. Loki's chest felt tight, "Do you know when he'll be back?"_

_Then Valkyrie took in a shuddering breath that sounded like a gasp and she gave him an infuriatingly sympathetic look as more tears spilled down her cheeks. Loki's own vision blurred and when he wiped his eyes, his fingers came away wet. He shook his head as if that would banish the unbearable realisation._

_"Where is my brother, Valkyrie?" His voice came out raspy but he cleared his throat to regain some control of himself. She wiped her eyes again and refused to look at him._

_"W-Where is he?" He asked again._

_"To get the stones back, they had to go to different places in time. Bruce and Thor went to Vormir for the soul stone. But the stone demanded a sacrifice."_

_The first tear fell down Loki's face._

_"Bruce came back with the soul stone..."_

_No, please no,_

_"..Thor didn't."_

_The Valkyrie couldn't bring herself to look at him, his eyes were wide and shining like an innocent child and he was shaking his head in disbelief. She looked down at her feet._

_"I'm so sorry, Loki," she said as she wiped her eyes._

_Tears were streaming down his face, his chest felt like it was closing in on itself and cutting off air from reaching his lungs. After all this time, everything he had done to make sure Thor would live even if he didn't, he climbed the world's tree just to come back to him. He cursed the Norns above for surely they had seen this coming and they let him leave anyway. He couldn't quite process the words in his head, like his mind wouldn't accept them. His brother was dead._

_Loki opened his mouth to say something to the Valkyrie but all that came out was a choked sob and he covered his mouth, burying his face in his hands. He felt warmth surrounding him but he didnt pick his head up to look. Valkyrie had left her chair by the window and come over to Loki hugging him from behind. Loki allowed this for all of a minute before he tore away from her hold._

_He angrily swiped at the tear tracks down his face and puffy red eyes. He was heading for the front door._

_"Where the hell are you going?!" She shouted stopping him in his tracks._

_"Avengers compound." He bit back._

_"What could you possibly hope to accomplish there? You're just gonna walk in there on your high horse and demand justice for your brother?! If they see you, you'll be shot where you stand!" She grabbed his wrist where it was gripping the door handle._

_Loki did stop then and he loosened his grip on the handle. His angered features began to soften and he looked down at the floor so she wouldn't see._

_"Valkyrie, I spent five years climbing the branches of Yggdrasil because my soul refused to die. The only thing that kept me going was the hope that Thor would be waiting for me when I returned to life. And now they've taken him from me too." Loki's voice broke at the last sentence and he finally looked at her. She was listening, much to his relief, it was a rare occurrence for Loki to be honest about anything with anybody. But what did he have to lose?_

_"Now I'll be honest, I don't know what to do. This is the first time in over a thousand years that I've done anything without a plan or a trick up my sleeve. But I can't just stay here and do nothing. My brother killed Thanos five years ago, I won't allow Thor's spirit to die with him. I'll go to the Avengers compound and finish what my brother started. For him."_

_The Valkyrie sighed and there was a brief silence between the two before she sighed again and said, "Well if you're going without a plan, you're gonna need somebody watching your back."_

                        ......................

Shaking his head and turning away from the group in an attempt to banish his memories, Loki's grief was soon joined by rage. How dare this pathetic mortal use his brother against him? What right did he have to even say Thor's name? He opened his mouth to repeat that exact question. Until Valkyrie beat him to it.

"For God's sake! Do you really think I would've brought him here if world domination was the first thing on his mind? Loki grieves for his brother, he's here to help. And I don't know who you are, but I served under the king of Asgard, if any of you pose a threat to his brother, then you'll be dealing with me. So back off!" Her eyes locked with Bruce's and he nodded in understanding. 

"She's right guys. Loki isn't here to fight us."

Clint looked to Bruce, "And how do you-" he stopped when Bruce rounded on all three Avengers.

"Am I the only one who actually listened to Thor? I was there during the destruction of his planet and so was Loki. He fought with us to beat their sister and helped save the Asgardians. That wouldn't have happened without him." 

Steve did remember that story. He remembered just after the snap happened, Thor hadn't been seen for a couple of days, he hadn't accepted any food or comfort and everyone was getting worried for their friend. He'd gone up to Thor's room and after knocking twice with no answer, Steve let himself in out of growing concern. He found Thor looking out of his window, the rain was coming down in sheets, joined by violent crashes of lightning. The sky was almost black and it was still early in the afternoon. Thor's back was to him as he stared at the crying skies. 

Steve hadn't been sure whether or not to leave Thor to it as he wasn't sure exactly where Thor's mind was at right now. But from the look of things, Thor wasn't doing good. He heard sniffling and heavy breathing and Steve knew then that Thor was crying and that quickly made his mind up to stay with his friend. He approached Thor slowly at first to avoid scaring him away but Thor made no move whatsoever to indicate he heard Steve coming to him. 

When he reached the God of thunder he quietly called Thor's name to make his presence known and all it took was one look from Thor, his eyes full of devastation and grief, for Steve to sit beside him and give the guy a much needed hug.

Thor was always the most open with Steve out of all his teammates so when the captain asked Thor about where he'd been in the last few years after Ultron's defeat, Thor didn't hesitate to tell him everything. He liked having that level of trust in someone. As his story progressed, Steve found himself feeling more and more horrified at everything Thor had been through leading up to Thanos. Steve asked about Loki, Thor told him what happened. It made Steve feel physically sick. He may have not known Loki very well and they definitely were never on the best of terms, but if there was one thing that Thor would go to the ends of the universe to protect, it was his brother. 

Steve understood what Loki meant to Thor and he couldn't begin to imagine feeling that helpless as you're forced to watch a person you love so dearly get so brutally murdered right in front of you and all you can do, as much as you don't want to, is watch. Steve could never understand how much pain Thor was in. But he understood that Thor blamed himself. He couldn't tell Thor that it wasn't his fault because it's not like he'd never blamed himself for something he had no control over, he'd done the same thing time and time again with Bucky. 

Looking back to Loki now as he waited for someone else to say something, Steve looked Bruce's way and nodded.  
"We need all the help we can get,"

Natasha gave Bruce a guilty look but she agreed that Loki had as much a right to be here as anyone else. If he wanted to help for the sake of his brother and their friend, then they should let him stay. 

"If he tries anything, I won't hesitate to shoot him," Clint said earning a hard glare from Valkyrie that didn't faze him in the slightest. Loki's smirk only riled him up even more. 

Back in the lab, Stark, Rhodey, Scott and Rocket were all still gathering around waiting when they came back. When the four other avengers reentered with Valkyrie and Loki, everyone tensed as Stark locked eyes with the trickster. There was a long pause and some kept a weary eye out for their weapons incase of a fight. 

Stark moved away from the iron gauntlet, which Loki glanced at looking mildly impressed. 

"My, my, you have all been busy," Loki muttered. 

"Loki," Bruce chastised from behind and Loki snickered. 

Stark quickly regained Loki's attention when the billionaire actually began walking closer to the trickster. He stopped a few feet away from Loki, his face was surprisingly calm. 

"Well, I'm guessing since an alien army isn't breaking down the doors and the fact that these guys haven't taken you down means you're on our side now, reindeer games?" Stark eventually spoke, Loki's smirk turned into a scowl at the name.

"I see you haven't changed a bit in the last decade, Stark," Loki snarked back.  
Rocket stepped forward jumping onto a counter with wide eyes.

"Loki? Wait, wait, _that's_ Thor's brother?!" The raccoon yelled over everyone. Loki remembered the talking raccoon from the vision the Norns showed him, actually seeing it in person was something else entirely. 

"The one and only, though with our father's history, you never know. I see that my brother has been talking about me," Loki turned to the raccoon.

"You could say that, though Big green over there filled me in on the juicy stuff like you trying to take over the world and helping to destroy your planet and whatnot," Rocket replied nodding to Bruce with his arms crossed over his chest. Loki's smirk returned.

"Good. Then with the pleasantries out of the way, do we have a plan?" Rocket smirked back, he liked this guy already.

Steve and Bruce came to stand by the gauntlet both looking at eachother with  understanding. Bruce reached out to touch the iron glove brushing his finger over each infinity stone. Bruce looked back to Loki who was waiting for an answer.

"Yeah. Bring everyone home."

"You sure about this, Bruce?" Steve asked.

Bruce took a moment before slowly nodding his head, "Let's do it."

Tony called FRIDAY to activate a protocol and all the doors and windows were barricaded. Everyone took a step back, using their helmets to cover their eyes. 

"So remember, you're just bringing everybody who disappeared right back here, to now. Don't change anything from the last five years." Stark explained to the hulk.

Bruce held the gauntlet in his large hands, "Got it."

Rocket stood behind Loki before handing him and the Valkyrie a pair of sunglasses each to cover their eyes. Everyone grew tense as Bruce brought the gauntlet to his hand.

Bruce took a deep breath to prepare himself and sighed through his nose,  
"Everyone comes home."

Bruce slid the gauntlet over his hand, the metal adjusting to fit. As soon as the glove was on, Bruce collapsed to his knees with a yell. The stones glowed within the gauntlet sending waves of their energy up Bruce's arm. The pain was unlike anything Bruce had ever felt before, it felt like he was being burned alive. It felt like he was walking into the sun. It felt like he was tearing himself apart.

He heard many of his friends around him all calling his name and he tried to focus on what he was supposed to do.

"Bruce, are you okay?"

"Get that thing off him!"

"Talk to me, Banner!"

"What's happening?!"

The power of the stones was intensifying, it felt like the metal was molding into his skin. _Come on, Bruce. You got this. Do it for them!_

With a scream, Bruce raised his hand and snapped his fingers. Within seconds, everything went dark.

                          ....................

When Bruce awoke, he was certain he was dead. He was lying in what looked like water, except it was orange. He wasn't in the compound anymore, that was certain. No. This looked more like where he woke up on Vormir after....

But it wasn't Vormir either. Everything around him, from the water to the skies, were orange, like the dawn of a new day. Bruce began to panic as he looked around frantically for a way out. He couldn't be stuck here. He couldn't! Banner walked through the waters in the empty world he found himself in. Like an empty planet with endless paths, no life was found here apart from him. 

"Did you do it?" 

The sudden voice behind him made Bruce startle and fall backwards, landing hard in the water with a splash. He breathed deeply in and out to try and calm his now racing heart. That voice, he knew that voice. But no, it couldn't be. 

Bruce felt himself getting his hopes up even as he tried not to, he slowly turned around. He could've wept. He almost did. Standing above him in all his godlike glory, smiling warmly at the hulk, was Thor.

Thor looked just as he had before what happened on Vormir where he fell to his death, selflessly sacrificing himself for the soul stone. He was giving Bruce the same look that he had before making that sacrifice and it brought back too many memories that Bruce wasn't ready to relive. 

Clumsily bringing himself to his feet, all Bruce could do was stare in awe at the God of thunder, not quite believing that he was standing there whole and breathing right in front of him after seeing his lifeless body at the bottom of Vormir's cliff only days before. 

Bruce found himself reaching out to touch Thor, wanting to make sure he was real. He stopped himself before he could however, out of fear that if this wasn't real then Thor would vanish again. 

"Thor?" Bruce instead asked. 

Thor's eyes were sad but his smile only grew. He reached out to Bruce this time, holding one hand out to the hulk. Though he was now a little more encouraged, he was still hesitant. Reluctantly, Bruce reached his hand back to Thor, reminding him of the procedure of the hulk's lullaby. 

Only this time when their hands made contact, Bruce didn't feel calm. He let out a choked sob and before he knew it, Thor had reached up, placing his arms around the hulk's neck, embracing him tightly while hiding his face in Bruce's neck. Thor was solid in his arms, and warm as he always had been. Hesitance gone, Bruce picked Thor up holding him back just as tightly. 

"So, did you do it?" Thor asked in Banner's ear. Bruce's chest ached at how much hope Thor's voice held, how much had his sacrifice been worth, was the unspoken question between them. 

"Yeah. We did it." Bruce replied and Thor let out a laugh, pulling back from the hug just enough so he could see Bruce's face.

"Didn't I tell you everything was going to be alright? I knew you could do it, Bruce!" 

Thor's words had no ill intention, they still hurt nonetheless. Bruce wasn't even completely sure the reverse snap had worked.

"Thor, there's something you should know," Bruce began to say as he let Thor back down on his own two feet. The God looked at him expectedly. Bruce really didn't think it through on how to break this to Thor. 

"Loki is alive," he blurted.

He felt Thor tense in his arms. He placed his hands on Thor's shoulders and pulled back to see his face but Thor was staring down at his feet not looking at him. 

"I knew it," Thor whispered.

Bruce looked down at Thor sympathetically. But he was surprised when Thor met his gaze again and he was smiling. His eyes held no sadness or anger of any kind. Thor looked truly happy.

"I knew Thanos couldn't kill him. Brunhilde would tell me back on Asgard that as much as I didn't want to, or shouldn't have to, I would have to come to terms with Loki's death some day. But I knew, deep down in my heart and soul I knew he was still alive somehow, maybe not even in body, but in spirit. I held on to that hope ever since it happened because somedays, it was the only reason I would have for waking up in the morning. The people must've thought I was mad, but that was the only hope I had left and I wasn't going to let someone take that from me too." 

Bruce smiled down at Thor as the God spoke. But when he looked down, his eyes widened in horror when he saw his body fading away. When Thor noticed this, his eyes cast back down in realisation.

"It looks like you're waking up." Thor said. 

Bruce shook his head. No. This couldn't be it. If the fates had decided to give him this last moment with his friend, then couldn't life wait just a minute longer, he wasn't ready to say goodbye yet. He stirred away from his thoughts when Thor placed a warm hand on his arm.

"I know there are alot of things you probably want to say, I wish we had more time. But for the sake of the whole universe, your soul must return. This is the fate I chose, and it's okay. Bruce, it's okay. Tell Loki, I love him and I'm sorry for any pain my decision caused." Thor looked like he wanted to say more but he cut himself off as Bruce faded even more and suddenly, the hulk got an idea. 

"Come back with me."

Thor balked at Bruce, 'What?"

"If my soul returns back to my body, maybe I can bring yours back too!"  

Thor scoffed and looked down again,  
"Bruce, I-" Bruce held his hand out to the God of thunder. 

"Take my hand. If our souls are connected, maybe we can return together," Bruce sounded ridiculous even to himself, but he was desperate. Thor didn't look overly convinced either. 

Bruce's body was disappearing, his voice turned pleading, "Please, Thor. If there's anyway that I can bring you back as impossible as it sounds, I'd rather live my life knowing I tried. But, it's your choice here. Do you want to come back?"

_Do you want to live?_

Bruce reached out further as Thor processed the question. The hulk wanted to scream at Thor to answer as his vision began to fade. He didn't even get the chance to say goodbye. 

The last thing Bruce felt before unconsciousness took over, was Thor's hand tightly gripping his own and everything faded to black again.

When Bruce awoke this time, he was back in the compound. He was aware that he could no longer feel his right arm. The gauntlet had slipped off, clattering to the ground along with him as he collapsed. He was surrounded by his friends.

"Don't move him!" Steve shouted beside Bruce's head, the hulk reached for the captain's hand as he tried to form a sentence whilst panting for breath.

"Did...did it work?" 

"We're not quite sure, don't worry about that now." 

A green glow caught his eye and he turned his head slightly to see Loki had grabbed hold of his injured arm and the aura emitting from his hands was seeping into Bruce's skin. Bruce was about to ask what Loki was doing until feeling began returning to his arm. It was warm and somewhat comforting. There was a few seconds of the burning pain he felt before snapping his fingers, until he felt relief. He then understood that Loki was trying to heal him. 

Did it work? Had he really done it?

"Guys, I think it worked," Scott whispered in disbelief as Clint answered his ringing phone, only to hear his wife's voice on the other end.

Through the lingering pain, Bruce began to smile. There was a dark shadow clouding over the sunlight seeping through the windows. When Bruce looked up, there was fire raining down towards the building and before he had the chance to shout out to his friends, the building exploded.

                            .................

The battle was raging. Scott had helped Bruce, Loki, Rocket and Rhodey out from under the rubble before they drowned. He gathered them all before he suddenly turned gigantic, gathering them all on his palm and bursting through the remains of the building out into the open.

Portals were opening everywhere Bruce looked, the dusted Avengers appearing into the battle. He found himself grinning wildly upon seeing his friends who disappeared five years ago all back and ready for battle. As Bruce looked around at the Wakandans, Asgardians, and avengers, he felt no fear at looking across to the army of Chitauri and outriders with the mad titan himself standing ahead of all of them. They were in the endgame now.

"Avengers!" Steve shouted over the battlefield. 

Bruce stood behind Steve and next to Loki. He took one last hopeful look around. He couldn't see Thor. It didn't work. He knew it was a long shot. It didn't hurt any less that it still hadn't worked. _I'm sorry, Thor._

Steve held his broken sheild to his chest looking Thanos in the eye, "Assemble."

With a battle cry, the avengers ran at the mad titan, who merely pointed his sword forward and then his army was  charging to meet them in the middle. Swords clashed, guns fired. Instantly soldiers from both sides were defeated, falling to the dirt never to rise again. 

Bruce was grateful for his hulk strength as fighting of Outriders was over ten times harder without a Hulkbuster suit on. One punch was enough to take down almost any that approached him. One jumped on his back almost toppling him over. There was a flash of red which sent the creature flying and Bruce turned around to see Wanda. She merely smiled and nodded before using her magic to elevate herself away. 

Tony made sure to stay off ground, blasting as many of them as he could see into smithereens. He wasn't alone for very long. Pepper blasted one of the ships behind him before coming to his side. Rhodey flew up to fight beside the couple, all fighting back to back raining fire on the Chitauri ships.

Loki used his magic to sheild himself as the Corvus Glaive tried to run him through with his spear. He saw Barton running past him carrying the gauntlet. 

"Steve, what do you want me to do with this thing?!" The archer shouted.

Seeing that Glaive was distracted, Loki took the opportunity to stab the monster through the throat with his dagger and kept him there until he stopped squirming and Loki dropped the corpse to the floor. He turned to Clint, "Barton, get the stones as far away as possible!" There was no way Thanos was getting his hands on them a second time. 

"No!" Loki turned to see Bruce. The hulk backhanded another outrider,  
"We need to get the stones back where they came from!" 

"There's no way to get them back, Thanos destroyed the quantum tunnel!" Said Stark.

"Yes there is!" Another voice came over the comm. "That wasn't our only time machine!" 

There was a noise from up ahead that sounded like a broken car alarm.  
"Does anyone see an ugly brown van out there?!" Yelled Steve. 

"Yes, but you're not gonna like where its parked," came Valkyrie's voice. 

When Loki tried to seek out Thanos again, he was tremendously surprised to see the mad titan had been lifted off the ground, wrapped in vines of red magic. Thanos was groaning in pain, his body looked like it was caving in on itself. There was a woman standing below him with red glowing eyes and a livid expression on her face. Another Avenger Loki had never met. He dared to hope that this may actually be it. That this woman may be the end of the titan. 

"Rain fire!" Thanos bellowed.

"But, sire! Our troops!" One of the black order began to protest. But Thanos cut him off, "DO IT!" 

The mothership was firing over and over again at the battlefield, destroying the earth below it and taking out whatever people failed to take cover in time. Loki summoned a sheild a split second before he was obliterated into nothing.

Then the firing stopped. The guns were now pointing at the sky. They seemed to be firing at nothing.

"What the hell is this?!" 

"Friday, what are they firing at?" 

The A.I responded, "Something must entered the upper atmosphere."

What looked like a ball of light was flying towards them from the heavy clouds above. Whatever it was, the guns were doing no damage to it whatsoever. People braced themselves as the ball of fire came closer and closer. But then Loki noticed, it wasn't coming to them, it was going straight for the mothership.

The light crashed with the ship, but instead of stopping, it went straight through the ship. The guns stopped firing and dropped. The entire ship caught fire and imploded on itself. Loki caught sight of what had saved them. A woman. No, Loki recognised her, she was one of the avengers that the Norns had shown him in his vision. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't mildly impressed as she hovered over the mothership, watching it crash down into the water below.

The mothership may be destroyed, but Thanos was free from the witch's grasp. And he'd spotted Loki.

"Oh shit."

The mad titan regained his sword from the ground beside him and began stalking towards the trickster with a manic grin on his face that always made Loki's blood run cold. 

The trickster knew there was no running from this. He manifested a dagger in each hand and concentrated. Several doubles of himself all appeared. They circled around Thanos, who merely slashed at each one with his sword causing the illusions to drop upon contact. He was getting closer, closer, too close. Was this how he was always supposed to die? At the hands of the one who took away everything he ever had? His grip tightened on his knives ready to defend himself for as long as he possibly could. Thanos drew his sword back, ready to strike down on the God of mischief.

Until something struck the titan across the back, causing him to stumble forward and his sword to fall from his hand. Loki's eyes followed the weapon as it flew past his head before stopping mid air and flying back towards him. Loki ducked out of the way of a gigantic axe as it flew dangerously close to his head and followed it as it trailed back to...what looked like the Bifrost. 

The axe stopped as a hand reached out to catch it and the bifrost faded away and Loki stopped breathing when the rainbow bridge disappeared to reveal his brother standing at the centre of the battlefield. His armour completely black, even the cape. The top half of his long blonde hair was braided intricately down the back of his head with the rest falling down his back. There was a silver chest piece planted in his armour with binding runes carved into it. 

Thunder boomed and lightning crashed in the skies as they turned completely black like the darkest midnight. Thor's eyes were white with electricity, more lightning covering his body with every deep breath he took. Thanos turned away from Loki, his eyes fixed on the God of thunder.

"I know you," Thanos simply said. He'd seen through Nebula's memories, he knew that Thor was the one to kill him after his triumph in eliminating half of life. He picked his sword up again. 

"I told you, you would die for what you did." Thor's eyes slowly returned to normal.

"And I suppose you think I'll let you do it again?" Thanos smirked. But he was caught off guard when Thor began to smile.

"I don't have to." He said. His grip on his axe tightened.

"I've already seen what's to come."

Before Thanos could retort, Danvers came crashing into him, sending them both flying.

The moment the mad titan was carried away, Thor broke into a sprint towards his brother helping him stand up. Loki was looking at Thor with wide eyes that were shining over with tears. 

"Loki! Are you alright?" Loki just stared at his older brother.

"I'm sorry I didn't come back sooner, but when I first woke up, I wasn't here, I was dead. Except I wasn't completely dead, at least I don't think I was, because I was in the soul stone, or at least that's what the strange red floating guy said. And then Bruce was there, telling me that you all managed to bring everyone back and he told me to come back with him. And I didn't even know a thing like that was possible but then I woke up on Vormir, the place where we got the soul stone from. Then the red floating guy told me I was only out for three days. The stormbreaker can summon the bifrost so I used it to bring myself-" 

Thor's rambling was then completely cut off by Loki throwing his arms around him. Though he was startled by the sudden contact, it passed quickly and Thor smiled, hugging Loki back just as tight and tucking his face in the crook of his neck. He felt Loki's shoulders shaking under his hands and he pulled back slightly to see Loki was sobbing. He recognised the look in his brother's eyes. _I thought I lost you._ He was thinking the same thing. As much as he wanted to ask Loki how he was alive, there would be time for that later.  He instead pulled Loki back into his protective embrace saying the words, "I'm here." 

The two pulled apart when Thor saw they were surrounded. The remaining members of the black order circled around the brothers. 

"Loki, get behind me." Thor said looking around at the three followers of Thanos. Loki looked back to his brother in bewilderment. But Thor wasn't looking at him anymore.

"Brother, you can't take them all on at once-" Thor's glare cut him off.

"I won't let them hurt my family."

Loki grew even more confused when Thor closed his eyes. What was his brother thinking? His eyes widened when he saw lightning sparking at Thor's fingertips. But it wasn't just racing over his skin like it usually did. Every vein in Thor's hands were beginning to glow a silvery white.

Thor felt the familiar comforting warmth of the lightning coursing through his veins. He let stormbreaker fall to the side so he could concentrate without her voice in his head. He felt every nerve in his body jump at the feeling of something new that he hadn't tried before. His veins were coming to life with lightning as well as the rest of his body. He felt it in his arms, his chest, his  back, travelling up the veins in his neck up to his face. He wasn't completely sure this would work, but if what the Norns told him before he woke up back on Vormir was true, then he had to try.

Loki saw every vein in his brother's body was glowing as white as the lightning on his skin and when Thor opened his eyes, they were nothing but white pools of light. Thor looked......  like a God. 

When Proxima Midnight ran at them with her spear, Loki instinctively went for his dagger. But he stopped when the vile woman halted like she had been immobilized. 

Thor had his hand outstretched before him and a lightning bolt shot from his palm, racing towards Proxima as fast as a gunshot. As it reached her, it weaved itself around her like barbed wire and before she could scream, her entire body crumbled to ashes. 

Loki looked at his brother in awe. With one single blast, he'd not only struck her, she was obliterated into dust. He turned her into nothing. 

Ebony maw escalated towards Thor from behind. He summoned the spear that proxima had dropped and threw it at the God of thunder. It was like Thor could sense his surroundings without even looking. He merely dodged the spear, turned around, thrusting his hand out at the Maw sending another bolt of lightning towards him and thunder crashed in the skies as Thor watched him fall to ashes at his feet.

Cull Obsidian ran at Thor's left with his club raised to smash over his head. Staring straight ahead at the dusted remains of the Maw, Thor raised his palm in the Odinson's direction and the creature let out a mighty roar as it crumbled to death under lightnings scorching embrace. 

Several outriders were running in their direction, completely trampling on the ashen remains of the black order. And in the distance, engaged in a losing battle with Danvers, was Thanos. Thor ran back at them, thrusting both hands out in front of him, within seconds the God had cleared a path for himself, he summoned stormbreaker and launched himself off the ground, flying over their dusted remains at a rapid pace while still wreathed in lightning, to make his way over to the mad titan as he managed to land a punch on Danvers' stomach with the infinity gauntlet, launching her into a pile of rubble. 

Thor caught sight of the gauntlet and with Thanos' back to him, Thor launched at him. He managed to get a grip on the gauntlet on the titan's hand and pulled. Thanos swung his fists at Thor with his other hand to no avail, the God held on for dear life as Thanos tried to pry him off. 

Regaining his sword from the ground, Thanos swung it at Thor, forcing him to let go before be was relieved of the top half of his body. Thor dodged two more swings from Thanos's sword before he managed to plant his palm firmly in the titan's chest. The silver-white returned to his veins and intensified as Thor seethed with hatred and rage at the titan. He grinned manically as cracks began appearing in Thanos' skin, the golden armour breaking under the melting energy and falling away. Lightning raced up and down Thor's body and his eyes were glowing so bright that he could feel them burning. 

"Thor?!" 

Thor turned his head slightly to see Stark in his armour hovering over their heads.

"Stark! Get the stones, quickly!" Thor bellowed.

"On it, Pointbreak! Good to see you alive and kickin," Tony replied and under any other circumstances, Thor would've laughed. But when he turned back to Thanos, the titan had pulled the power stone from the gauntlet and before he had the chance to move, he thrust it firmly into Thor's gut, throwing him backwards.

Thor landed hard on his back, knocking the wind out of him. He coughed and gasped at the burning pain in his abdomen. His body protested heavily as he pulled himself up and held out his hand waiting for a second before stormbreaker flew into his waiting palm. He saw Thanos strike Stark across the face sending him to the ground and his held up the gauntlet in triumph. _No, no, not again..._

"I am inevitable," Thanos smirked before snapping his fingers. Except there was nothing. The titan turned over his palm only to see that the stones were gone. 

The titan looked to Stark in disbelief as he raised his fist, calling the stones to the iron gauntlet he placed on his hand. Stark seized under the overwhelming power that immediately flooded his veins. Though he had the strength to look Thanos in the eye.

"And I....am......Ironman."

Tony snapped his fingers.

Once it appeared that the last of the dust had settled and Thanos was no more, the battlefield was an eruption of cheers. Some went as far as to throw their helmets in the air. 

Thor watched the battlefield come to life as the Avengers celebrated their victory. He looked down at his hands as the light in his veins disappeared and the last spark of lightning crackled before fading away. He was inwardly relieved that he was quickly learning how to control this power. But he was already feeling a headache coming. He willed himself to calm down and tried instead to focus on how tired he was. 

"Thor?" 

The God of thunder recognised that voice. He looked up and sure enough, Bruce was standing over him. The hulk was covered in dust, that Thor hoped was dirt from the ground and not one of Thanos' minions that had just disappeared. It wasn't only Bruce, from behind his back, Brunhilde appeared with Loki. 

"Bruce," Thor smiled. Something about the way Bruce was looking at him wasn't sitting right with Thor, "No need for doubt, my friend. I'm here, I'm alive. And it's all thanks to you." 

Bruce reached out his large hand to Thor, almost cautious as he touched his shoulder, like he thought Thor would break under contact. But Thor pushed Bruce's hand away and practically jumped into his arms. If Banner was startled, he didn't show it as he wrapped his arms securely around Thor's smaller frame. 

"It really worked," Bruce whispered. 

When Thor was back on the ground he saw Brunhilde was coming to him. He braced himself for a moment, almost certain she would beat the nine realms out of him. But she stopped in front of him. He smiled at her to try and ease the tension.

"Val, I-" then she slapped him. 

Then she hugged him too. He laughed around the stinging pain in his cheek, hugging her back. 

"I thought that...." she didn't finish her sentence. It was okay, Thor knew what she meant. "I'm really sorry, Brunhilde." He said and she laughed in response. 

"Only you would apologise for dying, Thor." She said before letting him go.

Before he could try and walk away, Thor grabbed hold of Loki's hand and pulled him back, "You're not getting away that easy." Loki sighed when Thor hugged him impossibly tight and eventually yielded, patting his brother's shoulder. "Is this really necessary?" He asked, Thor laughed. 

Thor was then brought back to reality when he heard the spiderman calling out ahead of them and he came to a horrible realisation, Tony had used the stones, "Mr Stark?" 

..............

It had been two days since Tony's funeral. It was a quiet occasion held at the Starks' home. All of the team showed up to say goodbye to their friend. 

It was getting dark out now on New Asgard. Thor, Loki and Brunhilde were sitting at the top of the hill outside Thor's little house that was now undergoing construction. 

It was the first time in over five years that Thor had ever felt so peaceful, watching his people who were still roaming the streets at this hour as they were finishing their work and getting ready to return to their homes. 

As happy as Thor was that the Asgardians had returned, he was feeling somewhat guilty that this was the most attention he had played to his people since new Asgard was built. He wasn't even sure if these people still considered him their king. He certainly didn't feel like he deserved it.

"You're doing it again," Loki said next to him. 

Thor startled, momentarily forgetting his brother was there, "Doing what?"

"Thinking too hard." He replied.

"Apologies, brother. I suppose I'm just unsure of where to go from here." 

Loki turned to face his brother, "How do you mean?"

"I mean, now that everyone's back, will Asgard still want me as their king? I've already put them through so much."

Brunhilde cut in, "I'm going to stop you right there, Thor. The people need a king. They may have been through alot, but if anything that's only proved to me even more that Asgard needs you." 

Thor didn't look convinced.

"You may be going through a rough patch, but recovery isn't something that happens in just one day. You need time to heal and we'll be there with you the whole way. But don't leave us, we can't lose you again." She placed her hand on his arm. 

Thor gave her a reassuring smile to let her know he wasn't going anywhere. Now wasn't the time to tell them about what happened after he came back to life. He squinted as his head pounded and his hands curled into fists to hide the small sparks of lightning emerging from his fingertips. He had control, he was fine. 

"Of course, if the last thousand years have told me anything, it's that you can't do nearly anything without me." Loki said, thankfully bringing Thor from his thoughts. He blinked at Loki before a wide smile crossed his face.

"So you're staying?" He failed to hide the hope from his voice. 

Loki looked like he wanted to give some form of dry response, probably pretending to be annoyed at the sentiment. But after a moment, he smiled back at Thor.

"Yes, brother, I'm staying."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that does it for part one of this series. I had a lot of mixed feelings about Thor in endgame but my biggest problem wasnt even making the character who lost everything into a joke. My biggest problem is how much they nerfed him. Okay I'm sorry, thor is the God of thunder for Christs sake! Captain marvel can take a hike, though I'm not going to bother going into detail about why I dont like Brie Larson, I dont mind captain marvel but the movies rendition should not be more powerful than Thor or scarlet witch. 
> 
> I just felt like there was alot wrong with Thor's story in endgame though I get the message they were going for, that's just my opinion.
> 
> Thank you all for reading! Comments are much appreciated as I love talking to people on here <3  
> Stay tuned for my second part. Thor has a really big storyline in part 2 and all will be explained about what happened when he came back to life:)
> 
> Till next time <3

**Author's Note:**

> So I wanted to add some fluffy moments and the idea I had for Nebula just never left my head. Sorry if some of the characters seemed occ and I'm sorry if I killed anyones good mood. Until next time feel free to drop a comment I love talking to people here. <3


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